Sublingual allergen-specific immunotherapy in elderly patients with a HDM allergy to D. pteronyssinus and D. farinae generated a significant clinical improvement in the active group compared with the placebo group, particularly during the heating season. This therapy was well tolerated.

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Background: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is increasing among the elderly. Staphylococcus aureus colonization is one of the most important aggravating factors in AD. Objective: This study analyses the clinical features of AD in elderly patients and determines the pathogenic roles of staphylococcal superantigens in AD with low and high total IgE levels. Methods:S. aureus enterotoxin genes were evaluated using PCR. Additionally, S. aureus-specific IgE levels and peripheral blood lymphocyte profiles were assessed. Results: A total of 44 women and 77 men diagnosed with AD with a mean age of 68.92 ± 6.51 years were evaluated. In 17 (68%) patients with AD and low levels of total IgE, there was a positive correlation between the positive results for enterotoxin B, S. aureus-specific IgE antibodies and Th1 cytokine profiles (Spearman’s rank correlation test, r = 0.89, p < 0.05). Conclusion: Our results indicate that AD patients with low total IgE levels differ in immunopathogenesis from AD patients with high circulating levels of total IgE AD.

Low adherence to antiasthmatic treatment is common in elderly people. Proper monitoring of asthma by the use of diary or assessment of drugs packages with estimation of depression symptoms and cognition status could increase the compliance and asthma control in this group of patients.

BackgroundThe prevalence of allergies and the incidence of cancer are both increasing worldwide. It has been hypothesized that atopy may affect the risk of some cancers.MethodsIn this study, 1525 patients (754 women and 771 men with a mean age of 52.7 ± 11.9 years) with different types of cancer were examined for the presence of allergies. Allergies were confirmed based on retrospective analysis of allergy diagnostic procedures in patients previously diagnosed with cancer. All patients were also analyzed for bronchial asthma and allergic rhinitis according to relevant guidelines. A control group of patients without cancer diagnoses was used for comparison.ResultsPatients with cancer had significantly fewer IgE-mediated allergic diseases than the control population. For the oncological group compared to the non-cancer patients, the odds ratios (ORs) for allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, and bronchial asthma were 0.67 (95 % CI 0.52–0.81), 0.89 (95 % CI 0.78–0.99), and 1.03 (95 % CI 0.91–1.13), respectively. The mean serum concentrations of total IgE were significantly lower in the study population of patients with cancer than in the patients in the control group (45.98 ± 14.9 vs. 83.2 ± 40.1 IU/l; p < 0.05). There were no significant correlations between the type of cancer diagnosed and the form of allergy.ConclusionOur results indicate that the overall incidence of allergies, particularly allergic rhinitis, was lower in patients with some types of cancer. Further studies are needed to confirm our findings.

Background. Efficacy of allergen immunotherapy (AIT) in local allergic rhinitis (LAR) is a new subject of research. The presence of asthmatic symptoms in patients with LAR in the context of AIT is unexplored. Objective. The efficacy and safety of AIT in patients with LAR towards birch pollen were investigated. The possibility of concomitant local allergic asthma in studied patients and the impact of AIT on it were examined. Methods. 36 patients with LAR towards birch were included in three years of AIT in a double-blind, placebo-control study. Primary outcome measurement was the mean changes in the combined symptom and medication scores (CSMSs) after AIT, and the second is the changes in the quality of life (QoL). Skin prick tests, serum, nasal allergen-specific IgE to birch, nasal and bronchial provocation challenge tests with birch allergen, methacholine tests, and spirometry were carried out at baseline and after AIT. Results. Mean CSMSs of three years of AIT were significantly decreased in the active group from 5.88 (range: 4.11-9.01) to 1.98 (range: 1.22-4.51; p<0.05). After three years of AIT, there was a significant increase of toleration for birch allergen from the mean concentration of 6250±1200 SQ-U/ml up to 45000±2500 SQ-U/ml (p=0.02) during repeated nasal challenges. 16 patients with LAR had the positive results of methacholine tests, and 11 of them had a positive bronchial challenge to birch allergen. After AIT, the significant decrease of bronchial responsiveness to birch allergen in 5 from 7 patients was confirmed (p=0.03). QoL assessed by the use of the RQLQ score was improved after AIT from 1.84 (95% CI: 1.53-1.97) to 1.45 (95% CI: 1.32-1.62) score in the active group after three years of AIT therapy (p=0.03). Conclusion. AIT to birch can be useful and safe in a patient with local allergic rhinitis and also with concomitant asthmatic symptoms. Further studies are needed.

This study reports a case of a 56-year-old white male, retired coal-miner, diagnosed with chromoblastomycosis lasting 20 years. The infection site was the burnt skin of the back. For many years the patient had not undertaken any treatment believing that the lesion had been a burn scar. A gradual increase in lesion size prompted the patient to start therapy. The diagnosis was made by histopathological examination and mycological culture. Identification of the causative agent at the species level was achieved by sequence analysis of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and D1/D2 domains of the 26S rDNA. To our knowledge, this is the first documented case of chromoblastomycosis caused by Fonsecaea monophora in temperate Europe, outside the endemic area for the disease. This finding is highly significant for understanding the routes of infection of chromoblastomycosis and radically revises the traditional view of the natural ecology of the etiological agents of the disease.