Allergic Conditions (allergic + condition)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Distribution within Medical Sciences


Selected Abstracts


Clinical Immunology Review Series: An approach to the patient with allergy in childhood

CLINICAL & EXPERIMENTAL IMMUNOLOGY, Issue 3 2009
R. Sporik
Summary Allergic conditions are common, with asthma being the most common chronic illness in childhood in most developed countries. Some 80% of asthmatic children are sensitized to aeroallergens, usually indoor animal dander and house dust mite. Some 80% of asthmatics also have rhinitis. Rhinitis and eczema receive less medical attention than asthma, but they can cause long-term morbidity and have substantial direct and indirect economic costs. Food allergy and anaphylaxis are increasingly recognised and are usually easily diagnosed and managed. Clinicians can use in vivo and in vitro measurements of allergen-specific immunoglobulin E to better time reintroduction of implicated foods. Specific parenteral and sublingual immunotherapy is widely practiced internationally but is uncommon in the UK. It may alter the natural history of aeroallergen reactive diseases in the upper and lower airways. Specific oral tolerance induction represents the current cutting edge in clinical allergy research. It remands resource intensive at present and cannot be adopted into routine clinical practice at this time. [source]


Is Headache Related to Asthma, Hay Fever, and Chronic Bronchitis?

HEADACHE, Issue 2 2007
The Head-HUNT Study
Objectives.,To examine the relationship between migraine and nonmigrainous headache and asthma, hay fever, and chronic bronchitis in a large cross-sectional population-based study. Background.,Associations between prevalence of migraine and asthma or allergy have been demonstrated in clinic-based and epidemiologic studies whereas studies on chronic bronchitis are scarce. Methods.,A total of 51,383 subjects completed a headache questionnaire and constituted the "Head-HUNT" Study. Of these 50,401 (98.1%) answered the questions about asthma and chronic bronchitis, and 47,029 (91.5%) answered the question about hay fever. Associations were assessed in multivariate analyses, estimating prevalence odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results.,Both migraine and nonmigrainous headache were approximately 1.5 times more likely among those with current asthma, asthma related symptoms, hay fever, and chronic bronchitis than those without. The association increased with increasing headache frequency. Conclusions.,This large questionnaire-based study confirms that migraine and other headaches are associated with respiratory and allergic disorders. The magnitude of the association between headache and asthma, hay fever, and chronic bronchitis tended to be in the same order. Headache frequency seems to have a greater impact on the association with respiratory or allergic conditions than headache diagnoses. Whether it is a causal relationship is uncertain, but the results underline the importance of considering comorbid disorders among patients with frequent headache. [source]


IgE, allergy, and risk of glioma: Update from the San Francisco Bay Area Adult Glioma Study in the Temozolomide era

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CANCER, Issue 3 2009
Joseph L. Wiemels
Abstract The consistently observed inverse relationship of allergic conditions with glioma risk and our previous demonstration that immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels also were lower in glioma patients than controls suggest that atopic allergy may be related to a mechanism that inhibits or prevents glioma. We sought to extend these results with a new and larger series of patients (n = 535 with questionnaire data; 393 with IgE measures) and controls (n = 532 with questionnaire data; 470 with IgE measures). As expected, glioma cases were less likely than controls to report history of allergies [among self-reported cases, Odds ratios (OR) = 0.59, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.41,0.85]. IgE levels also were lower in glioma cases versus controls (OR per unit log IgE = 0.89, 95% CI (0.82,0.98). However, this inverse relationship was only apparent among cases receiving temozolomide, a treatment which became part of the "standard of care" for glioblastoma patients during the study period. Among patients receiving temozolomide, IgE levels in cases whose blood samples were obtained within 30 days of diagnosis were slightly higher than controls, whereas IgE levels in cases whose blood sample was obtained >60 days after diagnosis were significantly lower than controls (OR = 0.80; 95% CI: 0.71,0.89). Thus, although our results robustly confirm the inverse association between allergy and glioma, the results for IgE are affected by temozolomide treatments which may have influenced IgE levels. These results have implications for the study of immunologic factors in glioma as well as for immunotherapy protocols for treating glioma. © 2009 UICC [source]


Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and IgE , a significant but nonlinear relationship

ALLERGY, Issue 4 2009
E. Hyppönen
Background:, Hormonal vitamin D system affects the determination of T-cell responses. It is unknown if there is an association between vitamin D status and allergic conditions. Our aim was to investigate differences in serum IgE concentrations by vitamin D status [measured by 25(OH)D] and by a genetic variation in a key vitamin D activation enzyme (CYP27B1) previously shown to be associated with type 1 diabetes. Methods:, 9377 participants in the 1958 British birth cohort completed a biomedical assessment at 45 years of age ; 7288 eligible participants had data on 25(OH)D and IgE, with 6429 having further information on CYP27B1 genotype (,1260C>A). Results:, There was a nonlinear association between 25(OH)D and IgE (P -value for curvature = 0.0001). Compared with the reference group with the lowest IgE concentrations [25(OH)D 100,125 nmol/l], IgE concentrations were 29% higher (95% CI 9,48%) for participants with the 25(OH)D <25 nmol/l, and 56% higher (95% CI 17,95%) for participants with 25(OH)D >135 nmol/l (adjusted for sex, month, smoking, alcohol consumption, time spent outside, geographical location, social class, PC/TV time, physical activity, body mass index and waist circumference). CYP27B1 genotype was associated with both 25(OH)D (difference for A vs. C allele: 1.88%, 95% CI 0.37,3.4%, P = 0.01) and IgE concentrations (,6.59%, ,11.6% to ,1.42%, P = 0.01). Conclusions:, These data suggest that there may be a threshold effect with both low and high 25(OH)D levels associated with elevated IgE concentrations. The same CYP27B1 allele that is protective of diabetes was associated with increased IgE concentrations. [source]


Review Article: Probiotics for allergic diseases: Realities and myths

PEDIATRIC ALLERGY AND IMMUNOLOGY, Issue 6 2010
Tsung-Chieh Yao
Yao T-C, Chang C-J, Hsu Y-H, Huang J-L. Probiotics for allergic diseases: Realities and myths. Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2010: 21: 900,919. © 2009 John Wiley & Sons A/S The prevalence of allergic diseases such as asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis has increased sharply over the past two to three decades in many countries, and allergies are now the most common chronic disease among children throughout the world. In the past few years, probiotics have been advocated for the management of allergic diseases in many parts of the world. Physicians have a responsibility to ensure the efficacy and safety of any products they prescribe or recommend. This article provides a comprehensive overview and a critical interpretation of currently available evidence regarding the role of probiotics in the prevention and treatment of allergic diseases in humans and also discusses several major myths and potential risks associated with the use of probiotics. In the current era of evidence-based medicine, there is still insufficient evidence to recommend probiotics for the prevention of allergic diseases or as part of standard management for any allergic conditions in children. [source]


Desloratadine dose selection in children aged 6 months to 2 years: comparison of population pharmacokinetics between children and adults

BRITISH JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY, Issue 2 2007
Samir K. Gupta
What is already known about this subject ,,According to recent literature, the pathophysiologies of allergic rhinitis and chronic idiopathic urticaria are thought to be similar in adults and children. In addition, the response to antihistamine treatment is similar in adults and children, suggesting a similar concentration-response relationship. ,,However, an appropriate dose selection and the pharmacokinetics of desloratadine in children of ,6 months,,2 years old have never been addressed in the literature. What this study adds ,,This study demonstrated that desloratadine syrup offers a safe treatment option for allergic conditions in young children. ,,A suitable dose for children aged ,6 months,<1 year is 1.0 mg, while the corresponding predicted dose for children aged ,1 year,,2 years is 1.25 mg. These paediatric doses yielded similar systemic desloratadine exposures (AUC) to those seen with a typical adult dose of 5.0 mg. Aims The aim of this study was to identify the dose of desloratadine in children aged ,6 months,,2 years that would yield a single-dose target exposure (AUC) comparable with that in adults taking 5 mg desloratadine as syrup. Methods In a phase 1, single-dose, open-label, pharmacokinetic study in 58 children aged ,6 months,<1 year and ,1 year,,2 years were randomly assigned to desloratadine syrup 0.625 mg (1.25 ml) and 1.25 mg (2.5 ml), respectively. Because the volume of blood that could be collected from individual subjects was limited, a population pharmacokinetic approach was used to estimate the pharmacokinetics of desloratadine. Safety was assessed based on results of screening and postdose physical examinations, laboratory safety tests, vital signs, and adverse events. Results The apparent clearance (CL/F) of desloratadine, population estimate (%CV), in children aged ,6 months,<1 year was 27.8 l h,1 (35) and corresponding values in children ,1 year,,2 years was 35.5 l h,1 (51), compared with 137 l h,1 (58) for adults. The CL/F ratios (children to adults) indicated that doses of 1 mg for ,6 months,<1 year and 1.25 mg for ,1 year,,2 years would result in similar systemic exposure to that observed in adults receiving the recommended 5 mg dose. Desloratadine was well tolerated with no safety issues. Conclusions Doses of 1.0 and 1.25 mg in children aged ,6 months,,2 years should result in an exposure to desloratadine similar to that of adults receiving doses of 5 mg. [source]


Allergy, family history of autoimmune diseases, and the risk of multiple sclerosis

ACTA NEUROLOGICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 1 2008
A. Alonso
Objective , Previous reports suggested an association between allergy, autoimmunity, and risk of multiple sclerosis (MS), but results have been inconsistent. The present study assessed the association between history of allergy and autoimmune diseases, and the risk of MS. Methods , We conducted a case,control study nested in the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) and NHS II cohorts. A total of 298 women with MS were matched with 1248 healthy controls and 248 women with history of breast cancer. A mailed questionnaire gathered information about history of allergic conditions and autoimmune disorders. Results , History of allergy was not associated with MS risk [odds ratio (OR) 1.0, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.8,1.4]. As expected, cases were more likely to have a positive family history of MS than controls (OR 9.7, 95% CI 6.1,15.3). A modest association was found between family history of other autoimmune diseases and MS risk (OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.0,1.8). We obtained similar results when we used women with breast cancer as comparison group. Conclusion , Family history of other autoimmune diseases was associated with a higher MS risk, suggesting a common genetic background or shared environmental triggers. There was no clear association between personal history of allergy and risk of MS. [source]


Infections and asthma: new insights into old ideas

CLINICAL & EXPERIMENTAL ALLERGY, Issue 8 2010
C. M. Sevin
Summary Cite this as: C. M. Sevin and R. S. Peebles Jr, Clinical & Experimental Allergy, 2010 (40) 1142,1154. A relationship between infections and allergic airway disease has long been recognized, and many reviews have been written on this topic. However, both clinical and basic science studies published in the last 3 years provide new insights into the relationship between infection and allergic conditions. In this review, we focus on these very recent studies, which address the role of infection in the development, maintenance, and exacerbation of asthma. Bacterial, viral, fungal, and parasitic infections have each been examined and provide a framework for these novel concepts. [source]