Neopterin Levels and Indoleamine 2,3-Dioxygenase Activity as Biomarkers of Immune System Activation and Childhood Allergic Diseases.

Background: Although Th2 immune activation is predominant in allergic diseases, neopterinlevels and indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO)-1 activity (kynurenine:tryptophan ratio), which reflect Th1 immune activity, increase with interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) stimulation. We investigated neopterin, tryptophan, and kynurenine levels as biomarkersof the Th1 immune system activation and changes in IDO-1 activityin children with asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis, as well as the relationship between these biomarkers and the total IgE level, age, and disease severity.

Methods: We divided 205 children (80 girls and 125 boys, four months to 17 years old) into four groups: controls, patients with asthma, patients with allergic rhinitis, and patients with atopic dermatitis.

Association of oxidative stress and dynamic thiol-disulphide homeostasis with atopic dermatitis severity and chronicity in children: a prospective study.

Background: Oxidative stress (OS) has an important effect on the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis (AD). Thiols are antioxidants that regulate intracellular redox metabolism and protect keratinocytes against OS damage in the stratum corneum.

Aim: To investigate dynamic thiol-disulphide homeostasis (dTDH) as a novel OS parameter in children with AD, and its relationship with disease severity and chronicity.

Does atopy affect the course of viral pneumonia?

Background: The presence of atopy is considered as a risk factor for severe respiratory symptoms in children. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of atopy on the course of disease in children hospitalised with viral pneumonia.

Methods: Children between the ages of 1 and 6 years hospitalised due to viral pneumonia between the years of 2013 and 2016 were included to this multicentre study.

Sleep patterns of young children with newly diagnosed atopic dermatitis.

Introduction: Even though atopic dermatitis (AD) most often begins in the first year of life, it is not well known whether sleep disturbances occur following the onset of the disease or whether they develop later.

Aim: To determine the sleep patterns of young children already diagnosed with AD in comparison to a control group by using a validated questionnaire, the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire (BISQ).

Material And Methods: Forty-six children with a new diagnosis of AD and 60 healthy children, aged 3-36 months, participated in the study.

Psychiatric disorders and symptoms severity in pre-school children with cow's milk allergy.

Background: Psychiatric disorders are seen frequently in atopic diseases. The present study aims to evaluate the frequency of psychiatric disorders and the severity of psychiatric symptoms in pre-school children with cow's milk allergy.

Methods: The parents of the pre-school children with cow's milk allergy were interviewed in person and asked to fill out the Early Childhood Inventory-4 form.