Montelukast treatment response according to eosinophil-derived neurotoxin level in children with allergic rhinitis.

Background: Eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EDN) is an important biomarker of eosinophilic inflammation.

Methods: This study evaluated Montelukast treatment response according to EDN concentration in children with perennial allergic rhinitis (PAR). Fifty-two children with PAR were recruited and took a combination of Montelukast (5mg) and Levocetirizine (5mg) "Mont/Levo Group" or only Montelukast (5mg) "Mont Group" for 4 weeks.

Biomarkers in allergen immunotherapy: Focus on eosinophilic inflammation.

Asthma and allergic rhinitis (AR) are 2 of the most common chronic inflammatory disorders and they appear to be on the rise. Current pharmacotherapy effectively controls symptoms but does not alter the underlying pathophysiology. Allergen immunotherapy (AIT) is an evidence-based therapy for asthma and AR and has been recognized as the only therapeutic method that actually modifies the allergic disease process.

Eosinophil granule proteins as a biomarker in managing asthma and allergies.

In the past few decades, biomarkers have been successfully used for the diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of disease. Taking together clinical, genetic, lifestyle, and information on relevant biomarkers, the therapy of diseases can be personalized to an individual. Several novel biomarkers have been recently reported for allergic diseases.

Increase in eosinophil-derived neurotoxin level in school children with allergic disease.

Background: Eosinophils are major effector cells of allergic disease and excellent markers of eosinophilic inflammation. Accurate and reliable biomarkers are helpful in the diagnosis, treatment, and control of allergic disease.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate an alternate marker of eosinophilic inflammation, eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EDN), in a number of allergic diseases.

Pretreatment with 6-Gingerol Ameliorates Sepsis-Induced Immune Dysfunction by Regulating the Cytokine Balance and Reducing Lymphocyte Apoptosis.

Sepsis is characterized by an initial net hyperinflammatory response, followed by a period of immunosuppression, termed immunoparalysis. During this immunosuppressive phase, patients may have difficulty eradicating invading pathogens and are susceptible to life-threatening secondary hospital-acquired infections. Due to progress in antimicrobial treatment and supportive care, most patients survive early sepsis.

Efficacy of subcutaneous immunotherapy for patients with asthma and allergic rhinitis in Korea: effect on eosinophilic inflammation.

Background: Atopic asthma (AA) and allergic rhinitis (AR) are often seen as comorbidities and specific immunotherapy (SIT) is considered evidence-based treatment for them both.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of multiallergen subcutaneous SIT (SCIT) in reducing nasal and sputum eosinophilia, symptom scores, and impaired lung function in Korean pediatric patients with AR and AA.

Methods: Children aged 6-15 years with a documented history of bronchial asthma and seasonal/perennial AR were recruited then randomly selected to 1 of 2 groups: "immunotherapy group" (inhaled corticosteroids [ICS] and short-acting beta-agonist [SABA] + subcutaneous injection of standardized extracts of up to 4 allergens [n = 53]) or "drug only group" (ICS and SABA only [n = 19]).

Low immunoglobulin G4 subclass level is associated with recurrent wheezing in young children.

Background: The most important infectious trigger of asthma is the virus and patients with immunoglobulin deficiencies are prone to recurrent respiratory infections.

Objective: We investigated the relationship between immunoglobulin G subclass and recurrent respiratory symptom exacerbation and explored possible therapeutic effects of intravenous immunoglobulin administration.

Methods: Twenty-eight infants less than 24 months old with 2 or more recurrent wheezing episodes (infantile wheezer group) and 29 asthmatic children aged 24 months to 15 years (bronchial asthma [B-asthma] group) visited our hospital from October 2010 to January 2018.

Comparison of serum eosinophil-derived neurotoxin levels between wheezing and non-wheezing groups in children with respiratory tract infection.

Eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EDN) is associated with recurrent wheezing episodes after bronchiolitis, childhood asthma, and allergic rhinitis. We investigated if there is a measurable difference between serum EDN levels in children with wheezing and non-wheezing respiratory infections. 171 children who visited a university hospital with respiratory infections were enrolled in the study.

Multicenter Adherence Study of Asthma Medication for Children in Korea.

Purpose: Adherence is a major component of successful medical treatment. However, non-adherence remains a barrier to effective delivery of healthcare worldwide.

Methods: Twenty healthcare facilities (secondary or tertiary hospitals) belonging to the Korean Academy of Pediatric Allergy and Respiratory Diseases (KAPARD) participated.

Montelukast Reduces Serum Levels of Eosinophil-Derived Neurotoxin in Preschool Asthma.

Purpose: Several markers for eosinophilic inflammation have been proposed to predict response to asthma treatment. However, definitive criteria for treatment decisions have not yet been established. We investigate a potentially useful relatively non-invasive biomarker, eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EDN), to predict favorable responses to budesonide or montelukast, common treatment for children with asthma.

Viral Infections and Associated Factors That Promote Acute Exacerbations of Asthma.

Despite asthma being the most common chronic childhood ailment, there is still much to learn about the disease. Early childhood infections with well-known or emerging viruses can lay the pathophysiologic framework for asthma development and exacerbation later in life, which may be due partly to alteration of the airway microbiome. Once asthma is established, acute exacerbations are usually associated with infections with respiratory viruses, such as rhinoviruses (RVs).

Comparison of nasal cytokine profiles of human metapneumovirus and respiratory syncytial virus.

Background: Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) share some epidemiological and clinical characteristics; however, few studies have examined the mechanisms by which these viruses induce airway inflammation.

Objective: This study was undertaken to compare cytokine profiles in hMPV and RSV patients to investigate possible differences in inflammatory pathways.

Methods: Nasopharyngeal aspirate specimens were collected from 1,008 pediatric patients hospitalized for acute lower respiratory tract infection with wheezing and 20 normal healthy controls.

Utility of serum eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EDN) measurement by ELISA in young children with asthma.

Background: This study was done to compare the efficacy of a recently developed eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EDN) ELISA kit ("BioTracer™ K EDN ELISA Kit") to a commercially available EDN ELISA kit ("MBL EDN ELISA Kit") and demonstrate the usefulness of serum EDN measurement in young asthmatic children.

Methods: Forty-eight children with physician-diagnosed asthma (Asthma group) and 31 age-matched normal controls (Control group) were recruited from the Asthma and Allergy Center at Inje University Sanggye Paik Hospital, Seoul, Korea from January 2010 to September of 2012. EDN levels in each serum specimen were measured 2 times using the: 1) BioTracer™ K EDN ELISA Kit and 2) MBL EDN ELISA Kit at the Inje University Sanggye Paik Hospital laboratory.

Quercetin induces mitochondrial biogenesis through activation of HO-1 in HepG2 cells.

The regeneration of mitochondria by regulated biogenesis plays an important homeostatic role in cells and tissues and furthermore may provide an adaptive mechanism in certain diseases such as sepsis. The heme oxygenase (HO-1)/carbon monoxide (CO) system is an inducible cytoprotective mechanism in mammalian cells. Natural antioxidants can provide therapeutic benefit, in part, by inducing the HO-1/CO system.

Dexibuprofen for fever in children with upper respiratory tract infection.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the safety and efficacy of dexibuprofen compared to ibuprofen.

Methods: This double-blind, double-dummy study enrolled patients from January 2008 to May 2009 presenting at one of five tertiary care centers in Seoul, Korea with febrile illness who were then given one of three active treatments: one dose of dexibuprofen 2.5 or 5 mg/kg (DEX 1); dexibuprofen 3.

Eosinophil-derived neurotoxin levels at 3 months post-respiratory syncytial virus bronchiolitis are a predictive biomarker of recurrent wheezing.

Objective: To determine whether eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EDN) is a predictive marker of recurrent wheezing episodes in post-respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) bronchiolitis.

Methods: EDN levels and recurrent wheezing episodes were serially measured in 200 infants hospitalized with RSV bronchiolitis.

Results: Serum EDN levels at 3 months correlated significantly with total wheezing episodes at 12 months in the RSV-PLC (n  = 71; r = 0.

Curcumin protects retinal pigment epithelial cells against oxidative stress via induction of heme oxygenase-1 expression and reduction of reactive oxygen.

Purpose: To determine whether curcumin induces expression of the defensive enzyme heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and protects cells against oxidative stress in cultured human retinal pigment epithelial cells.

Methods: Effective concentrations and toxicities of curcumin were determined after 3 h of curcumin treatment with the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. Confluent human retinal pigment epithelium cell lines (ARPE-19) were preincubated with curcumin and oxidatively challenged with H(2)O(2).

Infection, eosinophilia and childhood asthma.

There is a growing list of viruses and bacteria associated with wheezing illness and asthma. It is well known that a few of these pathogens are strongly associated with wheezing illness and asthma exacerbations. What is not known is if early childhood infections with these pathogens cause asthma, and, if so, exactly what are the pathophysiologic mechanisms behind its development.

Airway IFN-γ production during RSV bronchiolitis is associated with eosinophilic inflammation.

Study Objective: This study was designed to investigate the possible role of IFN-γ in eosinophil degranulation that occurs during respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) bronchiolitis.

Methods: Sixty-seven infants, 2-24 months old and hospitalized with their first episode of acute RSV bronchiolitis, were selected for this study. Eosinophil-active cytokine and chemokine profiles in nasal lavage supernatants taken within the first 48 h of admission were determined by a multiplex bead array system (Luminex).

Eosinophil degranulation is more important than eosinophilia in identifying asthma in chronic cough.

Objective: We investigated whether eosinophil degranulation is a distinctive feature of asthma and can distinguish between chronic cough patients with asthma and those without.

Methods: Thirty-seven patients, with a chronic cough for more than 1 month, and nine normal individuals (controls) were enrolled. Subjects were divided into two groups: one group with asthma and positive bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) (Asthma group, n = 18) and the other group without asthma and negative BHR (Non-Asthma group, n = 19).

Adenovirus infection with serious pulmonary sequelae in Korean children.

Introduction: Varying clinical progress and long-term pulmonary sequelae have been associated with different adenoviral serotypes.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the association between serotype and clinical profiles of pediatric adenoviral pneumonia cases that occurred in Korea from 1996-1998.

Methods: Nasopharyngeal aspirate samples from 44 adenovirus-positive patients presenting with acute severe respiratory disease were sent to reference laboratories for serotyping.

Respiratory viruses, eosinophilia and their roles in childhood asthma.

With the advent of highly sensitive and specific screening of respiratory specimens for viruses, new viruses are discovered, adding to the growing list of those associated with wheezing illness and asthma exacerbations. It is not known whether early childhood infections with these viruses cause asthma, and, if so, what exactly are the pathophysiologic mechanisms behind its development. The current consensus is that respiratory viral infection works together with allergy to produce the immune and physiologic conditions necessary for asthma diasthesis.

Salmonella Virchow and Salmonella Weltevreden in a random survey of the Asian house gecko, Hemidactylus frenatus, in houses in northern Australia.

Background: Salmonella enterica serotype Virchow is the most common cause of invasive nontyphoid salmonellosis in North Queensland, particularly in infants, but the zoonotic source is unknown. This study aimed at determining (i) the prevalence of the introduced Asian house gecko, Hemidactylus frenatus, in houses in North Queensland and (ii) whether they were a potential source of Salmonella Virchow.

Methods: Asian house geckos were collected in a random survey of houses in Townsville, North Queensland.

Increases in airway eosinophilia and a th1 cytokine during the chronic asymptomatic phase of asthma.

Background: Studies using allergen challenge models have suggested Th2 cytokines promote airway inflammation in asthma. We assessed mediators of airway inflammation during the chronic asymptomatic phase of asthma.

Methods: Nine non-atopic asthma (NAA) patients, 19 atopic asthma (AA) patients, 20 atopic controls (AC), and 38 normal controls (NC) underwent sputum induction while asymptomatic.