There is an increasing trend in the global prevalence, morbidity, and economic burden associated with asthma in recent decades [1]. The Global Strategy for Asthma Management and Prevention Report [2] defined asthma as a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways in which many cells and cellular elements are involved. Both host factors (primarily genetic) and environmental factors (primarily a...

BACKGROUND Co-morbid allergic rhinitis (AR) and asthma has not been studied in Caribbean countries where there is a high prevalence of childhood asthma. METHODS Using the International Primary Care Airways Group (IPAG) guidelines to determine AR, care-givers of 393 (response rate=100%) children attending asthma clinics in selected public sector health facilities in Trinidad, West Indies, were...

Immunoglobulin E (IgE) is central to the development of allergic diseases. Crosslinking of cell-bound IgE by the allergen leads to the initiation of the inflammatory cascade. Omalizumab, an anti-IgE antibody, forms complexes with free IgE, thereby inhibiting the allergic reaction before its commencement. A survey of the clinical trials performed on omalizumab indicated that this anti-IgE antibo...

The use of allergen-Specific Immunotherapy (SIT) to treat asthma remains one of the most debated aspects in the field since several decades. The available guidelines provide no clear or unequivocal indication, stating only that SIT is specific for the allergen causing the allergic disease (rhinitis and/or asthma) and not for the disease itself [1]. Nonetheless, in the majority of the clinical t...

BACKGROUND Health-related quality of Life (HRQOL) has been considered an important variable to be managed in airway diseases. Allergy and asthma can reduce HRQOL as a result of profound physical and psychosocial complications. Most patients with asthma also suffer from rhinitis, which also impairs quality of life. However, the impact of allergic rhinitis on asthmatic patients has not been inves...

The review considers the main groups of drugs used to treat bronchial asthma depending on severity disease. mechanisms action and effectiveness taking anti-asthma drugs, their combinations side effects are covered in detail. Particular attention is paid targeted therapy with biological which aimed at reducing allergic inflammatory response patients severe asthma. This approach allows change nat...

BACKGROUND Th2 cell activation and T regulatory cell (Treg) deficiency are key features of allergy. This applies for asthma and rhinitis. However with a same atopic background, some patients will develop rhinitis and asthma, whereas others will display rhinitis only. Co-receptors are pivotal in determining the type of T cell activation, but their role in allergic asthma and rhinitis has not bee...

BACKGROUND Past evidence has suggested a role of artificial sweeteners in allergic disease; yet, the evidence has been inconsistent and unclear. OBJECTIVE To examine relation of intake of artificially-sweetened beverages during pregnancy with child asthma and allergic rhinitis at 18 months and 7 years. METHODS We analyzed data from 60,466 women enrolled during pregnancy in the prospective l...

The aim of this study was to describe the time patterns of wheezing in both asthmatic and nonasthmatic children during the first 36 months of life, and to determine whether there are asthma-related breakpoints in the incidence of wheezing. Data from a historical cohort of children followed from birth to 6 years (SLAM cohort) were used. Wheezing episodes until 36 months and asthma at 6 years wer...

BACKGROUND Prospective studies of asthma and allergic conditions based on the general population are scarce. AIM To summarize the methods and main results from a prospective study among school children. METHODS In 1996, a cohort of 3525 children aged 7/8 years in Northern Sweden were invited to a questionnaire survey using an expanded ISAAC protocol, and 97% participated. The cohort has bee...