Background: Long-term Helicobacter pylori infection increases the risk of gastric malignancies. Since the symptoms for H. pylori gastritis, as well as for several malignancies, may be nonexisting or highly unspecific, even H.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Finnish and Russian Karelia are adjacent areas in northern Europe, socio-economically distinct but geoclimatically similar. The Karelia Allergy Study was commenced in 1998 to characterize the allergy profiles in the two areas. Allergy prevalence had increased in Finland since the early 1960s, but the situation in Russia was unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The human commensal microbiota interacts in a complex manner with the immune system, and the outcome of these interactions might depend on the immune status of the subject.
Objective: Previous studies have suggested a strong allergy-protective effect for Gammaproteobacteria. Here we analyze the skin microbiota, allergic sensitization (atopy), and immune function in a cohort of adolescents, as well as the influence of Acinetobacter species on immune responses in vitro and in vivo.
Rapidly declining biodiversity may be a contributing factor to another global megatrend--the rapidly increasing prevalence of allergies and other chronic inflammatory diseases among urban populations worldwide. According to the "biodiversity hypothesis," reduced contact of people with natural environmental features and biodiversity may adversely affect the human commensal microbiota and its immunomodulatory capacity. Analyzing atopic sensitization (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Multinational time-trend analyses of atopic disease have shown that the East-West gradients in prevalence are shrinking. We set out to clarify whether the disparities in the occurrence of atopy and atopic diseases in Finnish and Russian Karelia during the past 10 years have diminished and how the prevalence of atopy has evolved with successive years of birth.
Methods: Two surveys with identical methodology were performed in 1997/1998 and 2007.