Highlights and recent developments in airway diseases in EAACI journals (2018)

Abstract

The European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) supports three journals: Allergy, Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, and Clinical and Translational Allergy. EAACI's major goals include supporting the promotion of health, in which the prevention of allergy and asthma plays a critical role, and disseminating the knowledge of allergic disease to all stakeholders. In 2018, the remarkable progress in the identification of basic mechanisms of allergic and respiratory diseases as well as the translation of these findings into clinical practice were observed. Last year's highlights include publication of EAACI guidelines for allergen immunotherapy, many EAACI Position Papers covering important aspects for the specialty, better understanding of molecular and cellular mechanisms, identification of biomarkers for disease prediction and progress monitoring, novel prevention and intervention studies, elucidation of mechanisms of multimorbidities, introduction of new drugs to the clinics, recently completed phase three clinical studies, and publication of a large number of allergen immunotherapy studies and meta‐analyses.

Advances and novel developments in allergic rhinitis

“…AR severely impacts the Quality of life (QoL) and sleep, leading to anxiety and depression 50 . Clinically, some doctors tell patients what to do but not why to do it.…”

CpG Adjuvant in Allergen-Specific Immunotherapy: Finding the Sweet Spot for the Induction of Immune Tolerance

“…The main strategy used for many years has been the reduction of allergic symptoms by antagonizing the activity of main allergic mediators through inhibition of their receptors, such as the histamine type-1 (H1) receptor or the cysteinyl-leukotriene receptor type-1 (CysLTR1), by H1-antihistamines or CysLTR1 antagonists. Particularly for allergic rhinitis, nasal sprays containing antihistamines are a preferable option for patients to achieve quick and fast symptom relief ( 16 ). When allergic rhinitis becomes chronic and unresponsive to systemic or topical antihistamines, intranasal glucocorticoids are added in addition to antihistamines to target T cells and thus reduce the Th2-mediated allergic airway inflammation.…”

Generation of functional lungs with pluripotent stem cells

“…Millions of people of all ages suffer from chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs), including asthma, respiratory allergies and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. To date, although significant advances have been made in terms of treatment, end‐stage CRDs still remains one of the most frequent causes of death worldwide with a death rate that has been increasing over the past few years 1 . Lung transplantation is the only therapeutic option when other treatments fail.…”