Influence of gestational hypertension and maternal air pollutant exposure on birth outcomes.

The relationship between exposure to air pollutants and fetal growth outcomes has shown inconsistency, and only a limited number of studies have explored the impact of air pollution on gestational hypertension and birth outcomes. This study aimed to evaluate how maternal exposure to air pollutants and blood pressure could influence fetal birth outcomes. A total of 55 women with gestational hypertension and 131 healthy pregnant women were enrolled in this study.

Involvement of IL-17 A/IL-17 Receptor A with Neutrophil Recruitment and the Severity of Coronary Arteritis in Kawasaki Disease.

Purpose: To assess the role of the interleukin (IL)-17 A/IL-17 receptor A (IL-17RA) in Kawasaki disease (KD)-related coronary arteritis (CA).

Methods: In human study, the plasma levels of IL-17 A and coronary arteries were concurrently examined in acute KD patients. In vitro responses of human coronary endothelial cells to plasma stimulation were investigated with and without IL-17RA neutralization.

Prevalence of infant sneezing without colds and prediction of childhood allergy diseases in a prospective cohort study.

Background: Allergy sensitization may begin during the perinatal period, but predicting allergic diseases in infancy remains difficult. This study attempted to identify early predictors of childhood allergy diseases in a prospective cohort study.

Materials And Methods: In a prospective birth cohort study at southern Taiwan locating in a subtropical region, questionnaire surveys of sneezing or cough without colds at 6 and 18 months of age were recorded, and the correlation with allergy diseases was assessed at 3 and 6 years of age.

A prospective birth cohort study of different risk factors for development of allergic diseases in offspring of non-atopic parents.

Background: Allergic diseases are thought to be inherited. Prevalence of allergic diseases has, however, increased dramatically in last decades, suggesting environmental causes for the development of allergic diseases.

Objective: We studied risk factors associated with the development of atopic dermatitis (AD), allergic rhinitis (AR) and asthma (AS) in children of non-atopic parents in a subtropical country.

Plasma Prostaglandin E2 Levels Correlated with the Prevention of Intravenous Immunoglobulin Resistance and Coronary Artery Lesions Formation via CD40L in Kawasaki Disease.

Background: A form of systemic vasculitis, Kawasaki disease (KD) occurs most frequently in children under the age of five years old. Previous studies have found that Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) correlates with KD, although the related mechanisms are still unknown. CD40L may also be a marker of vasculitis in KD, so this study focuses on PGE2 and CD40L expression in KD.

Gender-dependent effect of GSTM1 genotype on childhood asthma associated with prenatal tobacco smoke exposure.

It remains unclear whether the GSTM1 genotype interacts with tobacco smoke exposure (TSE) in asthma development. This study aimed to investigate the interactions among GSTM1 genotype, gender, and prenatal TSE with regard to childhood asthma development. In a longitudinal birth cohort in Taiwan, 756 newborns completed a 6-year follow-up, and 591 children with DNA samples available for GSTM1 genotyping were included in the study, and the interactive influences of gender-GSTM1 genotyping-prenatal TSE on childhood asthma development were analyzed.