Advances in Food Allergy Diagnosis.

An accurate diagnosis of food allergy is extremely important to guide safe and yet not overly restrictive dietary management. The cornerstone of the diagnosis of food allergy is the clinical history; it allows appropriate selection of the allergens to be tested and interpretation of the results of allergy tests, namely Skin Prick Test (SPT), Specific IgE (sIgE) to allergen extracts and, more recently, specific IgE to allergen components and the Basophil Activation Test (BAT). SPT and sIgE to allergen extracts are very sensitive methods to detect IgE sensitization to a specific food and assess the possibility of spontaneous resolution.

Chronic respiratory diseases and quality of life in elderly nursing home residents.

Few studies have assessed the quality of life (QOL) related to chronic respiratory diseases in the elderly. In the framework of the geriatric study on the health effects of air quality in elderly care centers (GERIA) study, a questionnaire was completed by elderly subjects from 53 selected nursing homes. It included various sections in order to assess respiratory complaints, QOL (World Health Organization QOL (WHOQOL)-BREF), and the cognitive and depression status.