Allergy

Higher doses of milk protein in dry powder form are more effective than lower doses of liquid milk extract in treating childhood milk allergies, a new study finds.

Elevated stress hormones in infancy appear to be linked to allergies in the first two years of life, a new study finds.

As a result of the steady rise of food allergies observed over the last decade in American children, a growing number of schools have decided to take action by establishing "peanut-free" classrooms and sections of cafeterias. The ban even disallows children from bringing homemade classroom snacks.

Physicians are not using oral food challenges frequently enough to diagnose allergies in children, according to a new study.

According to 28-year old German biochemist/fashion designer Anke Domaske, the latest fad that is friendly to allergy-prone skin is milk-made clothing. Known as "Qmilch," which combines the German word for milk and a sense of ‘quality,' the fabric's texture is most similar to silk but is washable much the same as cotton.

"The small number of patients that go on to develop chronic rhinosinusitis accumulates to about 15% of the population, making it an important disease," said Dr. Michael A. Kaliner during his lecture on chronic rhinosinusitis.

Although categorizing chronic rhinosinusitis is complex, CRS with or without nasal polyps is one way to initially begin classification. Prolonged duration of RS symptoms (>8-12 weeks) is the primary reason to evaluate patients for CRS. Dr. Meltzer emphasized the need to differentiate CRS from recurrent episodes of ARS.

During his lecture, Dr. Eli O. Meltzer walked his audience through diagnosis and management guidelines of sinusitis/ rhinosinusitis at the ACAAI annual meeting.

There are conflicting data regarding whether vitamin D deficiency is a risk factor for asthma. Observational studies have linked low vit D status with impaired lung capacity, increased airway hyperresponsiveness, corticosteroid unresponsiveness, relatively poor asthma control, and higher rates of asthma-related hospitalization.

Dr. Michael B. Foggs's lecture, "Here Comes the Sun: Vitamin D and Asthma," described the complex metabolic relationships and current knowledge gaps regarding vitamin D and its relationship to asthma.

During his presentation, Dr. Carlos Camargo reviewed recent studies on the effects of menarche, menopause, and pregnancy on asthma, and described the implications for patients with asthma.

Dr. Leonard B. Bacharier presented a lecture evaluating evidence-based treatments for wheezing and asthma in childhood and adolescence.

Virtually all asthma starts as episodic viral wheeze. Dr. Bush presented results from the Colt-Ashford Study, a community based, all-comers study of 642 babies born.

Dr. Andrew Bush asked his colleagues to consider the possibility that very early airway hyperresponsiveness, not inflammation, initiates asthma.

Pets can cause a variety of health problems for those with sensitivities but there are environmental changes that can help, according to Dana Wallace, MD, PA, associate clinical professor, Nova Southeastern University.

Everyone knows the risks of heart disease and cancer due to smoking but researchers are looking at the association between smoking and allergic disease.

The array of bacteria in the gut biome in the first six months of life provides protective benefits for the rest of life, according to Larry Borish, MD, FACAAI, professor of medicine at the University of Virginia.

The growing market for home air fresheners is impacting respiratory health, according to Stanley Fineman, MD, MBA, president-elect of ACAAI, associate clinical professor department of pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta Allergy & Allergy Clinic.

Early exposure to animals and infections could decrease the tendency to become allergic, according to Thomas A.E. Platts-Mills, MD, PHD, FACAAI, Asthma and Allergic Disease Center, University of Virginia Medical School.

The incidence of allergic disease has risen 50 percent each decade since the 1960s, according to Phillip Lieberman, MD, FACAAI, Clinical Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics in the Departments of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics (Divisions of Allergy and Immunology) at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine.

During the Ira Finegold Lecture, Thomas B. Casale, MD, FACAAI, professor of medicine at Creghton University School of Medicine, spoke about the role that diet and supplement can have on immune therapy. "For allergies, the immune system could be trained to ignore allergens like pollen and cat dander but still fight bacterial pathogens," he said.

Asthma and allergy patients would benefit from their physician taking a closer look at immunology, said M. Louise Markert, MD, PhD, Associate Professor at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC, during a plenary session at the American College of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology's annual meeting.

According to a recent study, "hypoallergenic" dogs produce no fewer allergens than any other breed of dog.

According to a recent report, nearly six million children-roughly one in twelve children- in the United States are allergic to at least one food.

Study shows that children exposed to pets in the first year if life are less likely to be allergic to them later on.

Seen an increase in the number of patients presenting with skin lesions on their face? Maybe you should ask them about their cell phone habits.

Primary care doctors often don't have the latest information on sinusitis diagnosis and management.

A new study from the MD Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas has identified a molecule that "specifically directs immune cells to develop the capability to produce an allergic response."

New technologies are improving the lives of people living with diabetes.

In children with allergic rhinitis, sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) can help prevent mild persistent asthma, new skin sensitizations and can reduce bronchial hyperactivity, Italian researchers report.