Pediatric allergy and immunology : official publication of the European Society of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology
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Pediatr Allergy Immunol · Dec 2014
The first wheezing episode: respiratory virus etiology, atopic characteristics, and illness severity.
Susceptibility to early rhinovirus-induced wheezing has been recognized as an important risk factor for childhood asthma, but data on the first wheezing episode are limited. The aim of this selected population study was to investigate virus etiology, atopic characteristics, and illness severity, as well as their interrelation, among first-time wheezing children. ⋯ A respiratory virus infection can be detected in all first-time wheezing children. Rhinovirus dominated the findings and was linked to atopic characteristics, prolonged cough, and parental smoking.
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Pediatr Allergy Immunol · Oct 2014
Comparative StudyEpithelial basement membrane thickening is related to TGF-Beta 1 expression in children with chronic respiratory diseases.
The complex structural changes of bronchial mucosa, known as remodelling, have been considered unique and typical for asthma. However, similar changes were recently found in other chronic respiratory diseases. The aim of this study was to compare basement membrane (BM) thickness and the number of transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1) positive epithelial cells in children with asthma, cystic fibrosis (CF), primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) and healthy controls. ⋯ Increased BM thickness and number of TGF-β1 positive epithelial cells were found in children with asthma, CF and PCD. The number of TGF-β1 positive cells correlated positively with the BM thickness in all groups. We suggest that this might be a common generic feature of bronchial remodelling in chronic respiratory diseases.