Background We aimed in our study to research the role of new cytokines such as IL-35, IL-22, and IL-17 that may form a target for novel treatment approaches. Methods IL-10, IL-17, TGF-β, IFN-γ, IL-22, and IL-35 serum levels of allergic rhinitis (AR) patients were measured using ELISA method. Allergic sensitization was demonstrated by the skin prick test. Patients only with olive tree sensitivity were evaluated for seasonal AR (SAR). Patients only with mite sensitivity were included in the study for perennial AR (PAR). AR clinic severity was demonstrated by the nasal symptom scores (NSS). Results In total, 65 AR patients (patient group), having 31 PAR and 34 SAR patients, and 31 healthy individuals (control group) participated in the study. Cytokine levels between the patient group and the control group were compared; IL-17 (p = 0.038), IL-22 (p = 0.001), and TGF-β (p = 0.031) were detected as high in the patient group, and IFN-γ (p < 0.001) was detected as low in the patient group. When correlation analysis was made between age, gender, prick test result, NSS, AR duration, and cytokine levels in the patient group, a negative correlation was detected only between IFN-γ (p = 0.032/r = −0.266) level and NSS. Conclusions Accompanied by the literature information, these results made us think that T cell subgroups and cytokines have an important role in AR immunopathogenesis. It is thought that future studies to be conducted relating to this subject will form new targets in treatment.

Health is the complete state of well-being and AR has major impact on quality of life (QoL), therefore it seems essential to include QoL measures in clinical evaluation along with traditional parameters. This study has demonstrated that RQLQ and mini-RQLQ are valid measures for use in Turkish patients with AR.

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Background: Omalizumab has demonstrated therapeutic benefits both in controlled clinical trials and real-life studies. However, research concerning the long-term effects and tolerability of omalizumab is needed. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness and tolerability of treatment with omalizumab for up to 5 years. Methods: A multicenter, retrospective, chart-based study was carried out to compare documented exacerbations, hospitalizations, systemic steroid requirement, FEV₁, and asthma control test (ACT) results during 1 year prior to omalizumab treatment versus at 1, 3, and 5 years of treatment. Adverse events and reasons for discontinuation were also recorded at each time point. Results: Four hundred and sixty-five patients were enrolled in the study. Outcome variables had improved after the 1st year and were sustained after the 3rd and 5th years of treatment with omalizumab. Omalizumab treatment reduced the asthma exacerbation rate by 71.3% (p < 0.001) at 1 year, 64.3% (p < 0.001) at 3 years, and 54.8% (p = 0.002) at 5 years. The hospitalization rate also decreased; by the 5th year of the treatment no patients were hospitalized. ACT results had also improved significantly: 12 (p < 0.001) at 1 year, 12 (p < 0.001) at 3 years, and 12 (p = 0.002) at 5 years. Overall, 12.7% of patients reported adverse events (most of these were mild-to-moderate) and the overall dropout rate was 9.0%. Conclusion: Omalizumab had a significant effect on asthma outcomes and this effect was maintained over 5 years. The drug was found to be generally safe and treatment compliance was good.

Angiogenic factor VEGF and its receptor Flk-1 is increased in AR. A similar increase in VEGF in AR with and without asthma despite a higher Flk-1 in AR patients with asthma may be a possible explanation for the presence of angiogenesis in the airway wall in patients with asthma but not in those with pure AR.

AimTo contribute to the understanding of the pathogenesis of chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) by identifying its relationship with autoimmunity and cytokines using the autologous serum skin test (ASST) and peripheral blood mononuclear cell culture (PBMC) method.Material and methodsInterleukins (IL)-4, IL-10, transforming growth factor (TGF-β1), interferon (IFN)-γ, IL-17A, and IL-23 levels in cell supernatants obtained by the PBMC method were measured using ELISA. Disease activity was assessed by determining the urticaria activity score (UAS).ResultsA total of 40 patients diagnosed with CSU participated in this study. Twenty patients had positive ASST results, and 20 had negative results. The control group included 20 healthy volunteers. We found that the IL-23 (p = 0.01), IL-10 (p = 0.04) and IL-4 (p = 0.04) levels of the patient groups were significantly lower compared with those of the control group. The IL-23 (p = 0.009), IL-10 (p = 0.009), IL-4 (p = 0.001), and IL-17 (p = 0.05) levels of the ASST(–) patient group were significantly lower compared with those of the control group. In addition, the IL-4 (p = 0.03) and IFN-γ (p = 0.05) levels of the ASST(+) patient group were significantly lower compared with those of the control group, and the ASST(+) patients had a significantly higher UAS than the ASST(–) patients (p = 0.021).ConclusionsThese results, when considered together with current reports in the literature, indicate that immune dysregulation occurs in the pathogenesis of CSU, causing cytokine imbalance.

The incidence of HT in the general population is 1.5%; in contrast, it was observed in 16.3% of our patients with AR, which represented a much higher rate than that in the overall population. Graves disease was not detected in our study subjects. A high incidence of HT in patients with AR, in which Th2 responses are dominant, indicates that further studies of the relationships among atopy, autoimmune diseases, and Th cell subgroups are needed.

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