Differential induction of allergen-specific IgA responses following timothy grass subcutaneous and sublingual immunotherapy.

Introduction: There is no detailed comparison of allergen-specific immunoglobulin responses following sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) and subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT).

Objective: We sought to compare nasal and systemic timothy grass pollen (TGP)-specific antibody responses during 2 years of SCIT and SLIT and 1 year after treatment discontinuation in a double-blind, double-dummy, placebo-controlled trial.

Methods: Nasal fluid and serum were obtained yearly (per-protocol population, n = 84).

Antiapoptotic serine protease inhibitors contribute to survival of allergenic T2 cells.

Background: The mechanisms that regulate maintenance of persistent T2 cells and potentiate allergic inflammation are not well understood.

Objective: The function of serine protease inhibitor 2A (Spi2A) was studied in mouse T2 cells, and the serine protease inhibitor B3 (SERPINB3) and SERPINB4 genes were studied in T2 cells from patients with grass pollen allergy.

Methods: Spi2A-deficient T2 cells were studied in in vitro culture or in vivo after challenge of Spi2A knockout mice with ovalbumin in alum.

Overcoming the challenges of providing clinical/practice education.

The responsibility of educating increasing numbers of students presents major challenges for nursing education. The Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (CASN) established a task force to examine the issues and barriers associated with provision of clinical/practice education for nursing students and to assist in the development of national guidelines for practice education. In this article, the authors present key findings and recommendations resulting from a literature review, a survey of member schools and a national forum on clinical practice education.