August 3, 2015

Vaccination recommendations for adult patients with autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases

Silja Bühlera, Gilles Eperonb, Camillo Ribic, Diego Kyburzd, Fons van Gompele, Leo G. Visserf, Claire-Anne Siegristg, Christoph Hatza,h

a Department of Public Health, Division of Infectious Disease / Travel Clinic, Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Prevention Institute, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
b Service de Médecine Tropicale et Humanitaire, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
c Division of Immunology and Allergy, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, Lausanne, Switzerland
d Department of Rheumatology, Basel University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland
e Department of Tropical Medicine, Institute for Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
f Department of Infectious Diseases, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
g Centre for Vaccinology, University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine, Geneva, Switzerland
h Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Department of Medicine and Diagnostics, Basel, Switzerland

Summary

BACKGROUND: The number of individuals with autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases (AIIRDs) treated with immunosuppressive drugs is increasing steadily. The variety of immunosuppressive drugs and, in particular, biological therapies is also rising. The immunosuppressants, as well as the AIIRD itself, increase the risk of infection in this population. Thus, preventing infections by means of vaccination is of utmost importance. New Swiss vaccination recommendations for AIIRD patients were initiated by the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health and prepared by a working group of the Federal Commission for Vaccination Issues as well as by consultation of international experts.

July 31, 2015

EAACI IG Biologicals task force paper on the use of biologic agents in allergic disorders

Abstract: Biologic agents (also termed biologicals or biologics) are therapeutics that are synthesized by living organisms and directed against a specific determinant, for example, a cytokine or receptor. In inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, biologicals have revolutionized the treatment of several immune-mediated disorders. 

July 28, 2015

The relation of autologous serum and plasma skin test results with urticarial activity score, sex and age in patients with chronic urticaria

 2015 Jun;32(3):173-8. doi: 10.5114/pdia.2015.48057. Epub 2015 Jun 15.

  • 1Department of Dermatology, Diyarbakır Research and Training Hospital, Diyarbakir, Turkey. Head of the Department: Sirac Aktar.
  • 2Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, Medeniyet University, Goztepe Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey. Head of the Department: Necmettin Akdeniz.
  • 3Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, Yuzuncu Yil University, Van, Turkey. Head of the Department: Omer Calka.

Abstract

INTRODUCTION:

Some previous studies reported autoimmunity as an etiologic factor in chronic urticaria (CU), but the results of some autoimmunity tests in these studies are conflicting.

AIM:

To concretize whether there was any relation of autologous serum skin test (ASST) and autologous plasma skin test (APST) results with sex, age and urticarial activity score (UAS) in patients with CU.

Population-based study of the association between asthma and pneumococcal disease in children

Authors Shea KM, Lash TL, Antonsen S, Jick SS, Sørensen HT
Published Date July 2015 Volume 2015:7 Pages 325—334

Kimberly M Shea,1,2 Timothy L Lash,3,4 Sussie Antonsen,4 Susan S Jick,1,5 Henrik T Sørensen1,4
1Department of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, 2Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 3Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA; 4Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark; 5Boston Collaborative Drug Surveillance Program, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
Background: Although asthma has recently been established as a risk factor for pneumococcal disease (PD), few studies have specifically evaluated this association in children.

July 27, 2015

Suppressive functions of B cells in infectious diseases

  1. Simon Fillatreau
  1. Deutsches Rheuma-Forschungszentrum, a Leibniz InstituteChariteplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany
    .
Abstract
B lymphocytes are often essential to successfully control invading pathogens and play a primary role in the protection afforded by successful vaccines through the production of specific antibodies. However, recent studies have highlighted the complex roles of B cells in infectious diseases, showing unexpectedly that some activated B cells limited host defense towards pathogens.

Impact of obstructive sleep apnea on lung volumes and mechanical properties of the respiratory system in overweight and obese individuals

Research article

Open Access

Arikin Abdeyrim12Yongping Zhang12Nanfang Li12*Minghua Zhao3Yinchun Wang4Xiaoguang Yao5Youledusi Keyoumu6 and Ting Yin4

Abstract
Background
Even through narrowing of the upper-airway plays an important role in the generation of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), the peripheral airways is implicated in pre-obese and obese OSA patients, as a result of decreased lung volume and increased lung elastic recoil pressure, which, in turn, may aggravate upper-airway collapsibility.

Cough hypersensitivity as a neuro-immune interaction

Abstract
Cough is an intrinsic protective reflex. However, chronic cough affects a considerable proportion of general population and has a major impact on quality of life. A recent paradigm shift to ‘cough hypersensitivity syndrome’ suggests that chronic cough arises from hypersensitivity of the airway sensory nerves.