Publications by authors named "Helene M Wolsk"

Background: The immune system plays a key role in the pathogenesis of asthma and allergy, but the role of the airway cytokine and chemokine composition in vivo in early life prior to symptom development has not been described previously. Here, we aimed to examine whether the neonatal airway immune composition associates with development of allergy and asthma in childhood.

Methods: We measured unstimulated levels of 20 immune mediators related to the Type 1, Type 2, Type 17, or regulatory immune pathways in the airway mucosal lining fluid of 620 one-month-old healthy neonates from the COPSAC birth cohort.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Children with rheumatic diseases often have elevated liver biochemistry. This can be triggered by medical treatment, e.g.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: We recently published two independent randomized controlled trials of vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy, both indicating a >20% reduced risk of asthma/recurrent wheeze in the offspring by 3 years of age. However, neither reached statistical significance.

Objective: To perform a combined analysis of the two trials and investigate whether maternal 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (25(OH)D) level at trial entry modified the intervention effect.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This protocol describes noninvasive sampling of undisturbed upper airway mucosal lining fluid. It also details the extraction procedure used prior to the analysis of immune mediators in fluid eluates for the study of the airway topical immune signature, without the need for stimulation procedures (often used by other techniques). The mucosal lining fluid is sampled on a strip of filter paper placed at the anterior part of the inferior turbinate and left for 2 min of absorption.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Nutrient trials differ from drug trials because participants have varying circulating levels at entry into the trial.

Objective: We sought to study the effect of a vitamin D intervention in pregnancy between subjects of different races and the association between 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) levels in pregnancy and the risk of asthma/recurrent wheeze in offspring.

Methods: The Vitamin D Antenatal Asthma Reduction Trial is a randomized trial of pregnant women at risk of having children with asthma randomized to 4400 international units/d vitamin D or placebo plus 400 international units/d vitamin D.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Reduced intake of n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) may be a contributing factor to the increasing prevalence of wheezing disorders. We assessed the effect of supplementation with n-3 LCPUFAs in pregnant women on the risk of persistent wheeze and asthma in their offspring.

Methods: We randomly assigned 736 pregnant women at 24 weeks of gestation to receive 2.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

More than a million childhood diarrhoeal episodes occur worldwide each year, and in developed countries a considerable part of them are caused by viral infections. In this study, we aimed to search for genetic variants associated with diarrhoeal disease in young children by meta-analyzing genome-wide association studies, and to elucidate plausible biological mechanisms. The study was conducted in the context of the Early Genetics and Lifecourse Epidemiology (EAGLE) consortium.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Importance: Observational studies have suggested that increased dietary vitamin D intake during pregnancy may protect against wheezing in the offspring, but the preventive effect of vitamin D supplementation to pregnant women is unknown.

Objective: To determine whether supplementation of vitamin D3 during the third trimester of pregnancy reduces the risk of persistent wheeze in the offspring.

Design, Setting, And Participants: A double-blind, single-center, randomized clinical trial conducted within the Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood 2010 cohort.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Bacteria and viruses are equally associated with the risk of acute episodes of asthma-like symptoms in young children, suggesting antibiotics as a potential treatment for such episodes. We aimed to assess the effect of azithromycin on the duration of respiratory episodes in young children with recurrent asthma-like symptoms, hypothesising that it reduces the duration of the symptomatic period.

Methods: In this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, we recruited children aged 1-3 years, who were diagnosed with recurrent asthma-like symptoms from the Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood 2010 cohort; a birth cohort consisting of the general Danish population of Zealand, including Copenhagen.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Two children are presented with autosomal recessive hyper IgE syndrome caused by a mutation in the dedicator of cytokinesis 8 gene (DOCK8). The manifestations are typically severe atopic dermatitis, food allergies, elevated serum IgE concentration, viral skin infections and risk of malignancies. DOCK8 deficiency was first reported in 2009, following the death of the oldest sibling.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Bacterial airway colonization is known to alter the airway mucosa immune response in neonates whereas the impact of viruses is unknown. The objective was therefore to examine the effect of respiratory viruses on the immune signature in the airways of asymptomatic neonates.

Methods: Nasal aspirates from 571 asymptomatic 1-month-old neonates from the Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood 2010 birth cohort were investigated for respiratory viruses.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF