Effectiveness of an antenatal maternal supplementation with prebiotics for preventing atopic dermatitis in high-risk children (the PREGRALL study): protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting 10%-15% of children in Europe. There is a need for new primary preventive therapeutic strategies in at-risk populations. Recent research has indicated that atopic diseases are associated with a disrupted gut microbial 'balance' in early life raising the possibility that interventions which yield optimal patterns of microflora could improve host's health.

Strategies used for measuring long-term control in atopic dermatitis trials: A systematic review.

Background: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease. There are no standardized methods for capturing long-term control of AD.

Objective: We sought to identify how long-term control has been captured in published randomized controlled trials (RCTs).

Extra-cellular matrix proteins induce matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) activity and increase airway smooth muscle contraction in asthma.

Airway remodelling describes the histopathological changes leading to fixed airway obstruction in patients with asthma and includes extra-cellular matrix (ECM) deposition. Matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) is present in remodelled airways but its relationship with ECM proteins and the resulting functional consequences are unknown. We used airway smooth muscle cells (ASM) and bronchial biopsies from control donors and patients with asthma to examine the regulation of MMP-1 by ECM in ASM cells and the effect of MMP-1 on ASM contraction.