An integrated molecular risk score early in life for subsequent childhood asthma risk.

Background: Numerous children present with early wheeze symptoms, yet solely a subgroup develops childhood asthma. Early identification of children at risk is key for clinical monitoring, timely patient-tailored treatment, and preventing chronic, severe sequelae. For early prediction of childhood asthma, we aimed to define an integrated risk score combining established risk factors with genome-wide molecular markers at birth, complemented by subsequent clinical symptoms/diagnoses (wheezing, atopic dermatitis, food allergy).

[Diagnosis and treatment of asthma: a guideline for respiratory specialists 2023 - published by the German Respiratory Society (DGP) e. V.].

The management of asthma has fundamentally changed during the past decades. The present guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of asthma was developed for respiratory specialists who need detailed and evidence-based information on the new diagnostic and therapeutic options in asthma. The guideline shows the new role of biomarkers, especially blood eosinophils and fractional exhaled NO (FeNO), in diagnostic algorithms of asthma.

Global hypomethylation in childhood asthma identified by genome-wide DNA-methylation sequencing preferentially affects enhancer regions.

Background: Childhood asthma is a result of a complex interaction of genetic and environmental components causing epigenetic and immune dysregulation, airway inflammation and impaired lung function. Although different microarray based EWAS studies have been conducted, the impact of epigenetic regulation in asthma development is still widely unknown. We have therefore applied unbiased whole genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) to characterize global DNA-methylation profiles of asthmatic children compared to healthy controls.

Trajectories of cough without a cold in early childhood and associations with atopic diseases.

Background: Although children can frequently experience a cough that affects their quality of life, few epidemiological studies have explored cough without a cold during childhood.

Objectives: The objective of the study was to describe the latent class trajectories of cough from one to 10 years old and analyse their association with wheezing, atopy and allergic diseases.

Methods: Questions about cough, wheeze and allergic diseases were asked at 1, 1.

Continuous Rather Than Solely Early Farm Exposure Protects From Hay Fever Development.

Background: An important window of opportunity for early-life exposures has been proposed for the development of atopic eczema and asthma.

Objective: However, it is unknown whether hay fever with a peak incidence around late school age to adolescence is similarly determined very early in life.

Methods: In the Protection against Allergy-Study in Rural Environments (PASTURE) birth cohort potentially relevant exposures such as farm milk consumption and exposure to animal sheds were assessed at multiple time points from infancy to age 10.

Species Colonization in Infancy: A Global Cross-Sectional Comparison by Population History of Breastfeeding.

species are beneficial and dominant members of the breastfed infant gut microbiome; however, their health benefits are partially species-dependent. Here, we characterize the species and subspecies of in breastfed infants around the world to consider the potential impact of a historic dietary shift on the disappearance of subsp. in some populations.

Immune Responsiveness to LPS Determines Risk of Childhood Wheeze and Asthma in 17q21 Risk Allele Carriers.

In murine models, microbial exposures induce protection from experimental allergic asthma through innate immunity. Our aim was to assess the association of early life innate immunity with the development of asthma in children at risk. In the PASTURE farm birth cohort, innate T-helper cell type 2 (Th2), Th1, and Th17 cytokine expression at age 1 year was measured after stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells with LPS in  = 445 children.

FDA warning montelukast 03.2020-Statement of the Austrian working group of pediatric pulmonology and allergology.

Montelukast, a leukotriene receptor antagonist (LTRA) has been approved for use in Europe since 1998. Indications for use (from the age of 6 months) include mild to moderate asthma, seasonal allergic rhinitis with asthma, and the prevention of exercise-induced asthma episodes. The psychiatric side effects of montelukast have been known for the last 10 years; in the case of such symptoms benefits and risks should be considered.

Inverse associations between food diversity in the second year of life and allergic diseases.

Background: The influence of diet in early childhood on later allergic diseases is currently a highly debated research topic. We and others have suggested that an increased diet diversity in the first year of life has a protective effect on the development of allergic diseases.

Objective: This follow-up study aimed to investigate associations between diet in the second year of life and later allergic diseases.

[Innovations of the GINA 2020 for Children and the Effects of COVID-19 on Children with Asthma].

In the years 2019-2021, the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) recommended some fundamental changes in the management of patients with asthma, that also affect school children and adolescents. A very significant new recommendation is that for safety, short-acting β2-agonists (SABA) should now be given in combination with inhaled corticosteroids (ICS). In adolescents, GINA steps 1 and 2 are combined and a low-dose ICS formoterol combination as needed is recommended for asthma problems.

Excessive Unbalanced Meat Consumption in the First Year of Life Increases Asthma Risk in the PASTURE and LUKAS2 Birth Cohorts.

A higher diversity of food items introduced in the first year of life has been inversely related to subsequent development of asthma. In the current analysis, we applied latent class analysis (LCA) to systematically assess feeding patterns and to relate them to asthma risk at school age. PASTURE (N=1133) and LUKAS2 (N=228) are prospective birth cohort studies designed to evaluate protective and risk factors for atopic diseases, including dietary patterns.

[Guideline for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Asthma - Addendum 2020 - Guideline of the German Respiratory Society and the German Atemwegsliga in Cooperation with the Paediatric Respiratory Society and the Austrian Society of Pneumology].

The present addendum of the guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of asthma (2017) complements new insights into the diagnosis and management of asthma as well as for the newly approved drugs for the treatment of asthma. Current, evidence-based recommendations on diagnostic and therapeutic approaches are presented for children and adolescents as well as for adults with asthma.

Cystic Fibrosis Newborn Screening in Austria Using PAP and the Numeric Product of PAP and IRT Concentrations as Second-Tier Parameters.

In Austria, newborns have been screened for cystic fibrosis (CF) by analyzing immunoreactive trypsinogen (IRT) from dried blood spots (DBS)s for nearly 20 years. Recently, pancreatitis-associated protein (PAP) analysis was introduced as a second-tier test with the aim of reducing recalls for second DBS cards while keeping sensitivity high. For 28 months, when IRT was elevated (65-130 ng/mL), PAP was measured from the first DBS ( = 198,927) with a two-step cut-off applied.

[Guidelines for the Management of Community Acquired Pneumonia in Children and Adolescents (Pediatric Community Acquired Pneumonia, pCAP) - Issued under the Responsibility of the German Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases (DGPI) and the German Society for Pediatric Pulmonology (GPP)].

The present guideline aims to improve the evidence-based management of children and adolescents with pediatric community-acquired pneumonia (pCAP). Despite a prevalence of approx. 300 cases per 100 000 children per year in Central Europe, mortality is very low.

Parents know it best: Prediction of asthma and lung function by parental perception of early wheezing episodes.

Background: Childhood asthma is often preceded by early wheeze. Usually, wheezing episodes are recorded retrospectively, which may induce recall bias.

Aims And Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate true-positive recall of parent-reported wheeze at 1 year of age, its determinants, and its implications for asthma and lung function at 6 years of age.

TNF-α-induced protein 3 is a key player in childhood asthma development and environment-mediated protection.

Background: Childhood asthma prevalence is significantly greater in urban areas compared with rural/farm environments. Murine studies have shown that TNF-α-induced protein 3 (TNFAIP3; A20), an anti-inflammatory regulator of nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) signaling, mediates environmentally induced asthma protection.

Objective: We aimed to determine the role of TNFAIP3 for asthma development in childhood and the immunomodulatory effects of environmental factors.

Association between antibiotic treatment during pregnancy and infancy and the development of allergic diseases.

Background: Allergies are a serious public health issue, and prevalences are rising worldwide. The role of antibiotics in the development of allergies has repeatedly been discussed, as results remain inconsistent. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between pre- and post-natal antibiotic exposure and subsequent development of allergies (atopic dermatitis, food allergy, asthma, atopic sensitization and allergic rhinitis).

The protective effect of cheese consumption at 18 months on allergic diseases in the first 6 years.

Background: The effect of exposure to microorganisms on allergic diseases has been well studied. The protective effect of early food diversity against allergic diseases was previously shown in the PASTURE cohort study. The consumption of cheese, a food potentially rich in microbial diversity, deserves further examination.