METHODS: A standardized questionnaire following the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) guidelines was investigator-administered to a clinically and epidemiology well-defined allergic cohort of 13,561 young Chinese adults aged 19-22. Information on their sociodemographic, lifestyle, dietary habits, and personal and family medical atopic histories were obtained. Allergic sensitization was assessed by a skin prick test to mite allergens. Spearman's rank-order correlation was used to assess the correlation between the intake frequencies of 16 food types. Dietary patterns were identified using principal component analysis. Four corresponding dietary scores were derived to examine the association of identified dietary patterns with allergic sensitization and AD exacerbations through a multivariable logistic regression that controlled for age, gender, parental eczema, BMI, and lifestyle factors.
RESULTS: The correlation is the strongest between the intake of butter and margarine (R = 0.65). We identified four dietary patterns, "high-calorie foods", "plant-based foods", "meat and rice", and "probiotics, milk and eggs", and these accounted for 47.4% of the variance in the dietary habits among the subjects. Among these patterns, moderate-to-high intake of "plant-based foods" conferred a negative association for chronic (Adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 0.706; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.589-0.847; p
METHODS: The present study examined the inhibitory effects of all collected honey on the release of selected inflammatory mediators, such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-4, IL-6, IL-8, histamine, and β-hexosaminidase in an activated HMC. Besides that, all honey's total phenolic content (TPC) was also examined, followed by using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to identify the phytochemicals in the honey. Further examination of the identified phytochemicals on their potential interaction with selected signaling molecules in an activated mast cell was conducted using computational methods.
RESULTS: The results indicated that there were significant inhibitory effects on all selected inflammatory mediators' release by KH sourced from bamboo (BH) and rubber tree (RH) at 0.5% and 1%, but not KH sourced from mango (AH) and noni (EH). BH and RH were found to have higher TPC values and were rich in their phytochemical profiles based on the LC-MS/MS results. Computational studies were employed to determine the possible molecular target of KH through molecular docking using HADDOCK and PRODIGY web servers.
CONCLUSIONS: In short, the results indicated that KH possesses anti-allergic effects towards an activated HMC, possibly by targeting downstream MAPKs. However, their anti-allergic effects may vary according to their botanical sources. Nevertheless, the present study has provided insight into the potential application of stingless bee honey as a complementary and alternative medicine to treat various allergic diseases.
RESULTS: Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis fractionated raw snail extract to approximately 24 protein bands, between 9 and 245 kDa. The prominent band at 33 kDa was detected in all raw and processed snail extracts. Immunoblotting tests of the raw extract demonstrated 19 immunoglobulin E (IgE)-binding proteins, and four of them, at 30, 35, 42 and 49 kDa, were revealed as the major IgE-binding proteins of P. polita. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry identified the 49 and 42 kDa major allergens as actin, whereas the 30 and 35 kDa major allergens were identified as tropomyosin. Immunoblotting revealed that the raw snail had more allergenic proteins than the processed snail. The degree of allergenicity in decreasing order was raw > brine pickled> boiled > roasted > fried > vinegar pickled. The presence of cross-reactivity between P. polita and the shellfish tested was exhibited with either no, complete, or partial inhibitions.
CONCLUSION: Actin and tropomyosin were identified as the major and cross-reactive allergens of P. polita among local patients with snail allergy. Those major allergens are highly stable to high temperatures, acidic pH, and high salt, which might played a crucial role in snail allergy in Malaysia. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.
METHODOLOGY: Proteomics was used to compare protein extracts of skim milk from Saanen, Jamnapari, and Toggenburg. Cow's milk was used as a control. IgE-immunoblotting and mass spectrometry were used to compare and identify proteins that cross-reacted with serum IgE from CMPA patients (n = 10).
RESULTS: The analysis of IgE-reactive proteins revealed that the protein spots identified with high confidence were proteins homologous to common cow's milk allergens such as α-S1-casein (αS1-CN), β-casein (β-CN), κ-casein (κ-CN), and beta-lactoglobulin (β-LG). Jamnapari's milk proteins were found to cross-react with four major milk allergens: α-S1-CN, β-CN, κ-CN, and β-LG. Saanen goat's milk proteins, on the other hand, cross-reacted with two major milk allergens, α-S1-CN and β-LG, whereas Toggenburg goat's milk proteins only react with one of the major milk allergens, κ-CN.
CONCLUSION: These findings may help in the development of hypoallergenic goat milk through cross-breeding strategies of goat breeds with lower allergenic milk protein contents.
DESIGN AND METHODS: The respondents (n=30) were conveniently recruited within 10 kilometres radius of Kuantan city. The data were obtained using semi-guided administered questionnaires, which consists of four parts: socio-demographic data, lifestyle and clinical history (Part A); attitude and awareness on dietary practice regarding urolithiasis (Part B); food frequency questionnaire on urolithiasis (Part C) and level of knowledge on urolithiasis (Part D).
RESULTS: Majority of the respondents were women (70%), Malay (83.3%), mean age of 33.97 (±9.27), married (63.3%), completed higher education level (60%), working with government sector (33.3%) and have fixed monthly income (53.3%). Some of them had hypertension (n=4), diabetes (n=1), gout (n=1) and intestinal problem (n=1). Majority (80%) claimed having no family history of urolithiasis, consumed alcohol (10%), exercise with average frequency 2-3 times/week (46.7%) and heard about urolithiasis from healthcare worker (46.7%). The respondents' awareness about urolithiasis is considered to be good [81.23 (±9.98)] but having poor knowledge score [2.70 (±1.149)]. Majority preferred wholemeal bread, white rice, chicken meat, mackerel fish, chicken egg, apple, carrot, mustard leave and fresh milk in daily intake. Lesser plain water intake than standard requirement was noticed among respondents. Seasoning powder was commonly used for seasoning.
CONCLUSIONS: Generally, the general population of Kuantan, Pahang was aware of urolithiasis disease but needed more information on dietary aspect in terms of knowledge and food choice.
OBJECTIVE: We aimed to investigate the genetic predisposition of co-trimoxazole-induced SCAR.
METHODS: We conducted a multicountry case-control association study that included 151 patients with of co-trimoxazole-induced SCAR and 4631 population controls from Taiwan, Thailand, and Malaysia, as well as 138 tolerant controls from Taiwan. Whole-genome sequencing was performed for the patients and population controls from Taiwan; it further validated the results from Thailand and Malaysia.
RESULTS: The whole-genome sequencing study (43 case patients vs 507 controls) discovered that the single-nucleotide polymorphism rs41554616, which is located between the HLA-B and MICA loci, had the strongest association with co-trimoxazole-induced SCAR (P = 8.2 × 10-9; odds ratio [OR] = 7.7). There were weak associations of variants in co-trimoxazole-related metabolizing enzymes (CYP2D6, GSTP1, GCLC, N-acetyltransferase [NAT2], and CYP2C8). A replication study using HLA genotyping revealed that HLA-B∗13:01 was strongly associated with co-trimoxazole-induced SCAR (the combined sample comprised 91 case patients vs 2545 controls [P = 7.2 × 10-21; OR = 8.7]). A strong HLA association was also observed in the case patients from Thailand (P = 3.2 × 10-5; OR = 3.6) and Malaysia (P = .002; OR = 12.8), respectively. A meta-analysis and phenotype stratification study further indicated a strong association between HLA-B∗13:01 and co-trimoxazole-induced drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (P = 4.2 × 10-23; OR = 40.1).
CONCLUSION: This study identified HLA-B∗13:01 as an important genetic factor associated with co-trimoxazole-induced SCAR in Asians.
METHOD: The scientific information on COVID-19 was analysed by a literature search in MEDLINE, PubMed, the National and International Guidelines from the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI), the Cochrane Library, and the internet.
RESULTS: Based on the diagnostic and treatment standards developed by EAACI, on international information regarding COVID-19, on guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO) and other international organizations, and on previous experience, a panel of experts including clinicians, psychologists, IT experts, and basic scientists along with EAACI and the "Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA)" initiative have developed recommendations for the optimal management of allergy clinics during the current COVID-19 pandemic. These recommendations are grouped into nine sections on different relevant aspects for the care of patients with allergies.
CONCLUSIONS: This international Position Paper provides recommendations on operational plans and procedures to maintain high standards in the daily clinical care of allergic patients while ensuring the necessary safety measures in the current COVID-19 pandemic.
OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to assess the role of Granulocyte Macrophage-Colony Stimulating Factor (GMCSF) in asthmatic airway hyper-responsiveness associated with RSV infections.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty five asthmatic cases and 45 healthy individuals were studied in a cross-sectional design. All asthmatics underwent symptom score assessment.GMCSF concentrations in sputum and RSV-IgM/IgG in serum samples were measured for all participants by Enzyme Linked Immuno-Sorbent Assay (ELISA).
RESULTS: The GM-CSF concentration level was significantly higher in asthmatics (270.27± 194.87pg/mL) especially among moderate and severe disease with mean concentration of 197.33±98.47 and 521.08± 310.04 respectively, compared to healthy controls (22.20±21.27 pg/ mL) (p =0.0001). The sputum level of GM-CSF in asthmatics is highly significant associated with positive anti-RSV IgG sera which represents 35/45(77.8%) with mean GM-CSF concentration of (276.99± 86.42) compared with controls at about 31/45 (68.9%) with GM-CSF mean concentration of (22.84±23.47). On the other hand, positive anti-RSV IgM in asthma cases was 8 out of 45(17.8 %) with GM-CSF mean concentration of (307.25± 306.65). Furthermore, GM-CSF sputum level was significantly correlated with eosinophil count especially in moderate and severe asthma.
CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed that GM-CSF level is associated with eosinophilia and indicates asthma severity that might be evident during RSV infection .The distinctive GM-CSF features observed in the sputum from asthmatics with RSV may be useful as a diagnostic methods to help match patients with antibody therapy.