No abstract

Dysregulated inflammasome activation contributes to respiratory infections and pathologic airway inflammation. Through basic and translational approaches involving murine models and human genetic epidemiology, we show here the importance of the different inflammasomes in regulating inflammatory responses in mice and humans with cystic fibrosis (CF), a life-threatening disorder of the lungs and digestive system. While both contributing to pathogen clearance, NLRP3 more than NLRC4 contributes to deleterious inflammatory responses in CF and correlates with defective NLRC4-dependent IL-1Ra production. Disease susceptibility in mice and microbial colonization in humans occurrs in conditions of genetic deficiency of NLRC4 or IL-1Ra and can be rescued by administration of the recombinant IL-1Ra, anakinra. These results indicate that pathogenic NLRP3 activity in CF could be negatively regulated by IL-1Ra and provide a proof-of-concept evidence that inflammasomes are potential targets to limit the pathological consequences of microbial colonization in CF.

Although most children with asthma are easy to treat with low doses of safe medications, many remain symptomatic despite every therapeutic effort. The nomenclature regarding this group is confusing, and studies are difficult to compare due to the proliferation of terms describing poorly defined clinical entities.In this review of severe asthma in children, the term problematic severe asthma is used to describe children with any combination of chronic symptoms, acute severe exacerbations and persistent airflow limitation despite the prescription of multiple therapies.The approach to problematic severe asthma may vary with the age of the child, but, in general, three steps need to be taken in order to separate difficult-to-treat from severe therapy-resistant asthma. First, confirmation that the problem is really due to asthma requires a complete diagnostic re-evaluation. Secondly, the paediatrician needs to systematically exclude comorbidity, as well as personal or family psychosocial disorders. The third step is to re-evaluate medication adherence, inhaler technique and the child's environment.There is a clear need for a common international approach, since there is currently no uniform agreement regarding how best to approach children with problematic severe asthma. An essential first step is proper attention to basic care.

Early-onset severe eczema in infancy was associated with HR-IgE-FS. Clinical implications Food allergies should be routinely assessed in infants with moderate or severe eczema. Capsule summary In eczematous infants, the earlier the age of onset, and the greater the severity of eczema, the greater the frequency of associated high levels of IgE-FS.

RT-PCR allows diagnosis and serotyping of pneumococcal bacteremic community-acquired pneumonia in children and is an important tool for evaluating serotype distribution in culture-negative samples.

Our study confirmed that clinical symptoms and radiological findings before bronchoscopy have a low diagnostic value in children with a history of FBA.

No abstract

No study has compared allergic sensitization patterns in infants with atopic eczema from different countries. The aim of this study was to investigate the patterns of allergic sensitization in a cohort of infants with atopic eczema participating in a multicentre, international study. Two thousand one hundred and eighty-four infants (mean age 17.6 months) with atopic eczema from allergic families were screened in 94 centres in 12 countries to participate in a randomized trial for the early prevention of asthma. Clinical history, Severity Scoring of Atopic Dermatitis Index, measurements for total serum IgE and specific IgE antibodies to eight food and inhalant allergens were entered into a database before randomization to treatment. A history of type of feeding in the first weeks of life and exposure to animals was recorded. A total of 52.9% of the infants had raised total IgE, and 55.5% were sensitized to at least one allergen. There was a wide difference in the total IgE values and in the sensitization rates to foods and aeroallergens among infants from different countries. The highest prevalence rates of allergen-sensitized infants were found in Australia (83%), the UK (79%) and Italy (76%). Infants from Belgium and Poland consistently had the lowest sensitization rates. In each country, a characteristic pattern of sensitization was found for aeroallergens (house dust mite > cat > grass pollen > Alternaria), but not for food allergens. In infants with atopic eczema, there is a wide variation in the pattern of allergic sensitization between countries, and data from one country are not necessarily generalizable to other countries