Eosinophils present a widespread distribution within the respiratory tract in FA, from the nasal mucosa to the distal lung. The outer wall of small membranous bronchioles is the main site of inflammatory changes in FA. There is a localized distribution of alveolar inflammation at the peribronchiolar region for mast cells and neutrophils. Our findings provide further evidence of the importance of the lung periphery in the pathophysiology of FA.

Objective. This study aimed to explore the association between asthma and atopy in a cohort of children living in a large urban center in Brazil. Atopy was defined by the presence of allergen-specific IgE in serum orAsthma; atopic hypersensitivity; child; Brazil. ABSTRACTThe prevalence of asthma has increased in industrialized countries in recent decades. There is now evidence for a high prevalence of asthma in Latin America that has reached epidemic levels in some urban centers (1, 2). The causes of these temporal trends are not clear but have been attributed to changes in environmental exposures and lifestyle factors such as those associated with the processes of urbanization.Considering all asthma as a single disease entity is an oversimplification (3). Different asthma phenotypes may predominate in different settings and be associated with distinct etiological factors and causal mechanisms (4). Of particular interest is that the proportion of asthma cases attributable to atopy has been shown to be highly variable (5); the existing evidence, while scarce, suggests that in Latin American countries most asthma cases in children appear not to be associated with atopy (6-9).Atopy can be determined by skin test reactivity to environmental allergens or the detection of allergen-specific IgE in serum. The two measures have been used interchangeably to define atopy, even though there is important disagree- Key words Investigación original / Original researchCunha SS, Barreto ML, Fiaccone RL, Cooper PJ, Alcantara-Neves NM, Simões SM, Cruz AA, Rodrigues LC. Asthma cases in childhood attributed to atopy in tropical area in Brazil. Rev Panam Salud Publica.

Objective: To evaluate the association between overweight and the occurrence of asthma and atopy in a cohort of children of 4-12 years of age living in the city of Salvador in 2005. Design: Cross-sectional study nested in a cohort. Setting: The metropolitan region of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. Subjects: The study included 1129 children of 4-12 years age who presented complete information on the variables used here. Skin tests for allergy, spirometry, faecal parasitology, serum IgE and anthropometric surveys were conducted. Poisson's multivariate regression was adopted. Results: Wheezing was found in 29?1% and asthma in 22?8 % of children, both conditions being more common in those under 6 years of age and 34 % more common in overweight children (prevalence ratio (PR) 5 1?34; 95 % CI 1?07, 1?67) following adjustment. The ratio between forced expiratory volume in 1 s and forced vital capacity was associated with overweight (PR 5 1?35; 95 % CI 1?11, 1?61). No statistically significant association was found between overweight and allergen-specific IgE or with wheezing. Conclusions: These results are in agreement with the hypothesis that overweight is associated with asthma and pulmonary function, even following adjustment for intervening variables known to be associated with the pathogeny of asthma.

An unusual patient with Andersen disease (glycogenosis type IV) is presented, with only relatively mild clinical symptoms at the age of 8 years. The patient has a profound deficiency of glycogen-branching enzyme.

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