IL-18 promoter polymorphisms under scrutiny

Polymorphisms of the IL-18 promoter and bronchial asthma.

To study the association of polymorphisms of the IL-18 promoter (-607C/A and -137G/C) with bronchial asthma, 120 subjects with bronchial asthma were selected as the experimental group (49 cases with bronchial asthma and allergic rhinitis as experimental group 1 and 71 cases with bronchial asthma without allergic rhinitis as experimental group 2) and 120 healthy individuals were selected as the ...

Under Scrutiny

IL-18 gene promoter polymorphisms are only moderately associated with periodontal disease in Italian population.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to determine the impact of the polymorphisms at position -607 (C/A) and -137 (G/C) in the promoter of the IL-18 gene and their haplotypes, on the individual susceptibility of developing Aggressive (AgP) and/or Chronic (CP) periodontitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 213 unrelated Italian subjects with periodontitis (AgP=109 and CP=104) and 100 periodont...

Folic acid under scrutiny

A consideration of the absorption and metabolism of folic acid in human subjects is timely, owing to the recent recommendation by the UK Government’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition that a mandatory folic acid fortification programme be implemented in the UK. In this issue of the British Journal of Nutrition, Wright et al. take us through the processes of absorption and metabolism of...

ContSys under Ontological Scrutiny

EN ISO 13940, commonly known as ContSys, is an international standard that provides a system of concepts to support continuity of care and semantic interoperability of information systems. ContSys provides domain-specific terms, definitions and relationships, but was not developed as an ontology. Nevertheless, we think that it might benefit from the application of more formal, ontological analy...