The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology
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J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. · Apr 2013
Parent cough-specific quality of life: development and validation of a short form.
Cough is a distressing symptom and has a significant effect on many children and their families. Quality-of-life (QOL) measures provide important outcome indicators for clinicians and aid in evaluating the efficacy of interventions. ⋯ The PC-QOL-8 questionnaire is a short, reliable, and valid instrument for assessing the effect of a child's chronic cough. It demonstrated sensitivity to change, and its length and psychometric properties should enhance its potential uptake and routine use in clinical practice and research.
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J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. · Apr 2013
Proinflammatory role of epithelial cell-derived exosomes in allergic airway inflammation.
Exosomes are nanovesicles involved in intercellular communication. Their roles in various diseases are often contextual, depending on the cell type producing them. Although few studies hint toward the proinflammatory role of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid-derived exosomes in asthmatic progression, the cell types in lungs associated with exosome-mediated crosstalk and their resultant effects remain unexplored. ⋯ Under the influence of IL-13, epithelial cell-derived exosomes can induce enhanced proliferation and chemotaxis of undifferentiated macrophages in the lungs during asthmatic inflammatory conditions.
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J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. · Apr 2013
Meta AnalysisA meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies for serum total IgE in diverse study populations.
IgE is both a marker and mediator of allergic inflammation. Despite reported differences in serum total IgE levels by race-ethnicity, African American and Latino subjects have not been well represented in genetic studies of total IgE. ⋯ This meta-analysis independently identified a variant near HLA-DQB1 as a predictor of total serum IgE levels in multiple race-ethnic groups. This study also extends and confirms the findings of earlier genome-wide association analyses in African American and Latino subjects.
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J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. · Apr 2013
Antihypertensive medication use is associated with increased organ system involvement and hospitalization in emergency department patients with anaphylaxis.
Risk factors for increased anaphylaxis severity are poorly understood. Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors have been associated with severe anaphylactic reactions in patients with hymenoptera venom allergy. Studies evaluating the association between beta-blockers and severe anaphylaxis have been conflicting. ⋯ In emergency department anaphylaxis patients, antihypertensive medication use is associated with increased organ system involvement and increased odds of hospital admission, independent of age, gender, suspected trigger, or preexisting lung disease.
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J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. · Apr 2013
Increased airway smooth muscle in preschool wheezers who have asthma at school age.
Increased airway smooth muscle (ASM) is a feature of established asthma in schoolchildren, but nothing is known about ASM in preschool wheezers. ⋯ Increased preschool ASM is associated with those children who have asthma at school age. Thus a focus on early changes in ASM might be important in understanding the subsequent development of childhood asthma.