Allergy

Chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU) typically lasts one to five years. Nevertheless, in 14% of CIU patients, the disease lasts longer than five years, and few predictors of its remission rate are available. However, a pair of Thai investigators recently showed that the results of two simple skin tests could predict two-year remission rates in patients with CIU.

Individuals with atopic asthma were recently found to have a distinctive bronchial bacterial microbiome that not only differs from those without asthma, but between asthmatics with phenotypes more responsive or resistant to inhaled corticosteroids.

A recent survey of asthma treatment in intensive care units of children's hospitals in the US reveals wide variability between institutions in both medication and ventilation interventions.

Studies that found no connection are outliers, the authors of the new meta-analysis write. They believe the findings have been consistent enough to assert a certain link between pollution exposure and juvenile asthma, but they note that many important questions remain.

High-dose biotin may be an effective treatment for progressive multiple sclerosis, researchers in France found.

A new study of inner city schools found evidence that high levels of mouse allergens correlated with hindered lung function and an increase in sick days caused by asthma symptoms.

AerobiKa, a vibratory positive expiratory pressure device meant to reduce mucus plugging, “did not demonstrate statistical significance in terms of improved clinical asthma score or reduced hospitalization rate.”

A recent study found that Puerto Rican children who lived closer to major roadways exhibited higher levels of certain inflammation-related cytokines in their blood.

Multiple measurements of skin integrity and function were applied to distinguish between the effects of topical emollient products in a recent study. Two popular products in the UK were determined to transiently improve the skin barrier that is thought to be defective in atopic dermatitis (AD), and another product was confirmed to be damaging.

Children with severe, persistent asthma in Memphis, TN, suffer an extremely high rate of atopy, according to a recent study. Clearer understanding of this relationship would allow physicians to employ more personalized and effective interventions.

Alemtuzumab provided more benefits to patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who had poor response to other therapies than subcutaneous interferon-B-1a.

The two major causes of atopic dermatitis: dysfunctional dermal barrier and immune responses.

Proactive administration of topical corticosteroid was found to reduce allergen sensitization in patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) as well as the periodic exacerbation of pruritic eczema.

It appears that 300 mg of omalizumab (Xolair/Genentech) is effective in reducing angioedema, according to the results of a new study.

The US is obsessed with eliminating odors, but a survey showed that trend may be unhealthy.

The researchers report that the results of this study “confirmed the rapid and sustained effectiveness of MP-AzeFlu under conditions of routine care around Europe.”

Both albuterol multidose dry powder inhaler (MDPI) and albuterol hydrofluoroalkane (HFA) outperformed placebo in a recent phase II trial.

Hookworms aren't the common affliction that they once were, at least in the developed world, but asthma prevalence is growing. A new study winks at a correlation, suggesting that a protein in the pesky parasites may treat asthma.

The technologies of texting, phone apps, and social media are being applied to asthma self-management programs for adolescents to enhance adherence to medication and effective response to symptoms.

Could the interaction of Zika virus with similar flaviviruses like Dengue and Chikungunya be the reason why Zika virus has turned so virulent after decades of being a minor illness?

According to a recently published review, development is proceeding on vaccines that hope to prevent or mitigate asthma, with several approaches advancing to clinical trial.

Atopic dermatitis comes with added infection risk.

Gut microbiota can influence intestinal mast cells (MMC) activation through the ingestion of fat, according to findings published in Gastroenterology.

Dermatitis researchers use far too many instruments in measuring symptoms of skin ailments, a study found. Symptoms of atopic ezcema/dermatitis (AD) were found in a systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to be most often characterized from composite measures rather than stand-alone symptom severity rating instruments, and thirty different instruments were found to have been used across 378 trials.

Severe atopic dermatitis (AD) symptoms of shorter duration were more likely to improve in allergen sensitized patients receiving desensitizing immunotherapy, than severe symptoms of longer duration or more moderate symptoms, according to a new observational cohort study.

Severe atopic dermatitis (AD) symptoms of shorter duration were more likely to improve in allergen sensitized patients receiving desensitizing immunotherapy, than severe symptoms of longer duration or more moderate symptoms, according to a new observational cohort study.

The issue of when to use eczema and when atopic dermatitis has thrown a wrench into data-mining machinations.

Using data from the Inner City Asthma Consortium, researchers from the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago were able to distinguish asthmatic children by the degree to which their condition could be controlled, and to make recommendations for more difficult cases.

Childhood atopic dermatitis (AD) usually resolves before adulthood, a meta-analysis of cases showed. Those patients who did see their AD persist were more likely to be female, to have been older at onset, and to have relatively severe AD.

An early clinical trial of a topical preparation of tofacitinib, a janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor, demonstrated that it improved symptoms of atopic dermatitis (AD) and was well tolerated.