Validation of the Global Allergy and Asthma European Network (GALEN) chamber for trials in allergy: Innovation of a mobile allergen exposure chamber.

Background: Field clinical trials of pollen allergy are affected by the impossibility of predicting and determining individual allergen exposure because of many factors (eg, pollen season, atmospheric variations, pollutants, and lifestyles). Environmental exposure chambers, delivering a fixed amount of allergen in a controlled environmental setting, can overcome these limitations. Environmental exposure chambers are currently already used in phase 2, 3, and even 4 trials.

Probiotics and allergies: myth or reality?

During the last years, along with the growing knowledge about the role and importance of the intestinal flora, interest remarkably increased in probiotic bacteria supplementation. It has indeed been demonstrated that the intestinal microbiota is very important in the regulation of several functions of the organism, even those far from the gastro-enteric system. Among them, great interest was stimulated by the proven capability of the intestinal microbiota to regulate the immune system, in particular to rebalance the TH1/Th2 ratio.

How air pollution influences clinical management of respiratory diseases. A case-crossover study in Milan.

Background: Environmental pollution is a known risk factor for multiple diseases and furthermore increases rate of hospitalisations. We investigated the correlation between emergency room admissions (ERAs) of the general population for respiratory diseases and the environmental pollutant levels in Milan, a metropolis in northern Italy.

Methods: We collected data from 45770 ERAs for respiratory diseases.

Allergen immunotherapy in asthma: current evidence and future requirements.

The role of allergen-specific immunotherapy in asthma (AIT) is still a matter of debate. Actually, many controlled clinical trials have proved efficacy and safety of AIT in asthma, and some published meta-analyses, despite some methodological weaknesses, have confirmed these findings, the most recent and convincing being a meta-analysis on injection AIT studies. For sublingual AIT evidences do exist, but SLIT meta-analyses are mostly questioned due to some biases and inconsistencies.

Steroid-sparing effects with allergen-specific immunotherapy in children with asthma: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Asthma control is now recognized as the main goal of asthma therapy. Guidelines recommend finding the lowest effective dose of inhaled corticosteroids in children with persistent asthma.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of an allergen-specific immunotherapy with a high-dose hypoallergenic mite preparation (allergoid) as steroid-sparing agent in children with allergic asthma.