Prevalence of food allergy and its association with atopic dermatitis in Iran: Results from the PERSIAN birth cohort.

Background: The incidence of food allergy (FA) has been increasing worldwide, causing growing concern on a global scale.

Objective: This birth cohort study analyzes the incidence of reported FA and other atopic comorbidities in children from birth to age 2 years who were living in 4 urban and semiurban areas in Iran.

Methods: Children were followed from birth until age 24 months, with follow-up questionnaires administered through parent or guardian interviews conducted when the children were aged 2, 4, 6, 12, and 24 months.

Peanut Allergy: Changes in Dogma and Past, Present, and Future Directions.

The prevalence of food allergy in the pediatric population, specifically to peanuts, has been rising. Accidental exposure to peanuts in a person who is allergic may have life-threatening consequences. Previous recommendations regarding peanut allergy included a delay in introduction of peanut to infants.

The hyper IgM syndromes.

The hyper IgM syndromes are a group of rare inherited immune deficiency disorders characterized by impairment of immunoglobulin isotype switching resulting from defects in the CD40 ligand/CD40 signaling pathway. X-linked forms of hyper IgM are caused by defects in the CD40 ligand gene or NF-κB essential modulator, while autosomal recessive forms of hyper IgM are caused by defects in CD40 or downstream signaling molecules including activation-induced cytidine deaminase, uracil N glycosylase or postmeiotic segregation increased 2. The loss of interaction between CD40 and its ligand results in an impairment of T cell function, of B cell differentiation and of monocyte function while only B cell differentiation appears to be affected in defects of sinaling molecules downstream of CD40 with the exception of defects of the NF-κB complex, which mediates signaling via multiple receptor pathways.

Patient-centered care and its effect on outcomes in the treatment of asthma.

Patient-centered care may be pivotal in improving health outcomes for patients with asthma. In addition to increased attention in both research and clinical forums, recent legislation also highlights the importance of patient-centered outcomes research in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. However, whether patient-centered care has been shown to improve outcomes for this population is unclear.