The aetiology of childhood asthma is complex. An early dysfunction in the immunological development of the innate immune system in combination with environmental factors possibly triggers asthma. CD14 and toll-like receptors are important components of the innate immune system. The aim of this systematic review was to obtain a better insight into the relation between CD14 and toll-like receptors and childhood asthma in Caucasians. We searched PubMed and EMBASE for relevant articles. In total, 44 articles were included. The quality of the selected studies was independently assessed by the first two authors using the Newcastle-Ottawa quality assessment scale. Toll-like receptor 2, toll-like receptor 6, toll-like receptor 9, and toll-like receptor 10 appear to have some association with childhood asthma in Caucasians. The evidence for a relation of CD14 with childhood asthma is limited. In conclusion, there is no convincing evidence yet for a role of CD14 and toll-like receptors in relation to childhood asthma. Future studies should include haplotype analysis and take environmental factors into account to further clarify the role of CD14 and toll-like receptors on childhood asthma.

Background

A diagnosis of peanut allergy has a major impact on an individual’s quality of life. Exposure to even small amounts of peanut can trigger serious reactions. Common cleaning agents can easily remove peanut allergen from surfaces such as table tops. Parents of children with peanut allergy frequently ask if peanut allergen can persist on surfaces if they have not been cleaned.

Objectives

The purpose of this study was to determine the persistence of peanut allergen on a typical table surface over time.

Methods

Five mL of peanut butter was evenly smeared on a 12 inch by 12 inch (30.5 by 30.5 cm) square on a nonporous (laminated plastic) table surface. Five squares were prepared in the same manner. The table was kept in a regular hospital office at room temperature and ambient lighting. No cleaning occurred for 110 days. Samples were taken at regular intervals from different areas each time. A monoclonal-based ELISA for arachis hypogaea allergen 1 (Ara h 1), range of detection 1.95-2000 ng/mL, was used to assess peanut allergen on the table surface.

Results

At baseline, there was no detectable Ara h 1 allergen. Immediately post application and for 110 days of collecting, detectable Ara h 1 was found each time a sample was taken. There was no obvious allergen degradation over time. Active cleaning of the contaminated surface with a commercial cleaning wipe resulted in no detectable Ara h 1 allergen.

Conclusions

Peanut allergen is very robust. Detectable Ara h 1 was present on the table surface for 110 days. Active cleaning of peanut contaminated surfaces easily removed peanut residue and allergen. Regular cleaning of surfaces before and after eating should be reinforced as a safety measure for all individuals with peanut allergy.

While a growing body of research is uncovering the aetiology and effective treatments for allergy, research that assess the broader ethical implications of this disease is lacking significantly. This article will demonstrate both the paucity of academic research concerning ethical implications in allergy and explain why ethical analysis is integral to formulating effective health strategies for allergic disease. An exhaustive literature search of publications in French and English identified less than 35 academic articles focussed on the topic of ethics and allergy; this is a miniscule number when compared to the amount of articles published on ethical issues related to other chronic illnesses, such as obesity. It is important to demonstrate to allergy specialists the need for, and utility of, further incorporating ethical analyses in allergology; the current success of Ethical, Legal, Social Implications (ELSI) research programmes in human genetics and nanotechnology will serve as notable examples. Indeed, future research and innovation in allergy will undoubtedly encounter ethical dilemmas and the allergology community should play a significant role in helping to address these issues. However, incorporating ethical analyses in allergology does not imply that the allergology community must acquire extensive knowledge in bioethics; instead, interdisciplinary research that incorporates expertise from allergology and bioethics would enable allergy specialists to advance critical knowledge development in this largely overlooked domain of study.

Background

Immunostimulatory therapy is now being recognized as an alternative to conventional chemotherapy for a variety of disease conditions, involving the impaired immune response of the host. In the present study, the immunostimulatory effect of the butanolic extract obtained from S. mialhesi aerial parts, was evaluated in vivo.

Methods

The immunostimulant potential of the plant extract on the phagocytic activity was measured by the carbon clearance rate test.

Results

Our research revealed that at different doses (50, 100 and 500 mg/kg), S. mialhesi extract increased the phagocytic activity in a dose dependant manner when compared with the control and thus the clearance rate of carbon was faster after the administration of the plant extract.

Conclusion

S. mialhesi extract exhibited a dose-dependent immunostimulant effect on the reticuloendothelial system, which could be attributed to the presence of active principles in this butanolic extract.

Heparins are one of the most used class of anticoagulants in daily clinical practice. Despite their widespread application immune-mediated hypersensitivity reactions to heparins are rare. Among these, the delayed-type reactions to s.c. injected heparins are well-known usually presenting as circumscribed eczematous plaques at the injection sites. In contrast, potentially life-threatening systemic immediate-type anaphylactic reactions to heparins are extremely rare. Recently, some cases of non-allergic anaphylaxis could be attributed to undesirable heparin contaminants.

A 43-year-old patient developed severe anaphylaxis symptoms within 5–10 minutes after s.c. injection of enoxaparin. Titrated skin prick testing with wheal and flare responses up to an enoxaparin dilution of 1:10.000 indicated a probable allergic mechanism of the enoxaparin-induced anaphylaxis. The basophil activation test as an additional in-vitro test method was negative. Furthermore, skin prick testing showed rather broad cross-reactivity among different heparin preparations tested.

In the presented case, history, symptoms, and results of skin testing strongly suggested an IgE-mediated allergic hypersensitivity against different heparins. Therefore, as safe alternative anticoagulants the patient could receive beneath coumarins the hirudins or direct thrombin inhibitors. Because these compounds have a completely different molecular structure compared with the heparin-polysaccharides.

Background

Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies are typically detected in anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody associated vasculitis, but are also present in a number of chronic inflammatory non-vasculitic conditions like rheumatoid arthritis. Rare cases of granulomatosis with polyangiitis (formerly known as Wegener’s granulomatosis, a vasculitic disorder frequently associated with the presence of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis have been described in literature.

Case presentation

We report two middle-aged female patients with rheumatoid arthritis who developed anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies and symptoms reminiscent of granulomatosis with polyangiitis. Despite the lack of antibodies specific for proteinase 3 and the absence of a classical histology, we report a probable case of granulomatosis with polyangiitis in the first patient, and consider rheumatoid vasculitis in the second patient.

Conclusion

Taken together with previous reports, these cases highlight that anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies have to be evaluated very carefully in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. In this context, anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies detected by indirect immunofluorescence appear to have a low diagnostic value for granulomatosis with polyangiitis. Instead they may have prognostic value for assessing the course of rheumatoid arthritis.

In this work we explore differences in blood cells and cytokine profiles in children according to atopic status and asthma (atopic or non-atopic). The study involved measurement of Th1(IFN-γ) and Th2 (IL-5 and IL-13) cytokines in Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus stimulated peripheral blood leukocytes, blood cell count, skin prick test and specific IgE against common aeroallergens. Atopic status was associated with eosinophilia and production of Th2 type cytokines. Atopic asthma was associated with eosinophilia and non-atopic asthma was associated with IFN-γ and elevated monocytes in blood. IFN-γ and monocytes might play a role in immunopathology of non-atopic asthma in Latin American children.

Background

A seasonal effect of month of birth and risk of allergic disease has been suggested by numerous studies. Few studies have directly measured pollen exposures at different points during pregnancy and in early life, and assessed their effects on risk of respiratory disease outcomes.

Methods

Pollen exposure was calculated for the first and last 12 weeks of pregnancy and the first 12 weeks of infancy for all children conceived by women residing in Stockholm, Sweden, between 1988 and 1995. Hospital admission data for respiratory conditions in the first year of life was also collected.

Results

Out of 110,381 children, 940 had been hospitalised for asthma by 12-months of age. Pollen levels showed both marked seasonal variations and between year differences. Exposure to high levels of pollen in the last 12 weeks of pregnancy was associated with an increased risk of asthma hospitalisation (aOR = 1.35, 95% CI = 1.07-1.71 for highest quartile versus remaining infants). Exposure to high levels of pollen in the first three months of life was associated with a reduced risk (aOR = 0.76, 95% CI = 0.59-0.98) but only in children of heavy smoking mothers.

Conclusions

High levels of pollen exposure during late pregnancy were somewhat unexpectedly associated with an elevated risk of hospitalisation for asthma within the first year of life.