Prevalence of symptoms of asthma and allergic rhinitis in children in Southern Brazil: a ten-year monitoring study.

Objective: This study analyzes and describes trends in prevalence of asthma and rhinitis in children 6-7 years old living in Santo Ângelo, Brazil, by comparing data from 2007, 2012, and 2017. Methods: The ISAAC (International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood) standardized written questionnaire was used in a three cross-sectional survey. The questionnaire was applied between March and May of 2007, 2012 and 2017. Results: A total of 701 children participated in the survey: 225 children in 2007, 229 in 2012, and 247 in 2017. There were no differences in the prevalence of current wheeze in the years of this study. On the other hand, a higher percentage of children were diagnosed with asthma in 2012 (26.2%) than in 2007 (10.2%) and 2017 (10.1%) (p < 0.05); however, the severity of asthma was lower in 2012 when compared to other years. Regarding cases of probable asthma - which included patients with suspected asthma or wheezing and nocturnal cough without a diagnosis of asthma - these corresponded to 15.7, 17.0, and 25.1% of the cases in 2007, 2012 and 2017, respectively. For other allergic diseases, we found no statistical difference in the frequency of symptoms of current rhinitis (55.5%, 54.6%, 51.8% in 2007, 2012, and 2017, respectively), allergic rhinitis (45.3%, 45.0%, 36.4% in 2007, 2012, and 2017, respectively), or pollinosis (17.8%, 12.7%, 14.2% in 2007, 2012, and 2017, respectively). Conclusions: The prevalence of probable asthma increased from 2007 to 2017. The prevalence of symptoms and diagnosis of allergic rhinitis and pollinosis was relatively high and these allergies must be considered in the pediatric population of the region.

Is recurrent respiratory infection associated with allergic respiratory disease?

OBJECTIVE: Respiratory infections cause high morbidity and mortality worldwide. This study aims to estimate the relationship between allergic respiratory diseases with the occurrence of recurrent respiratory infection (RRI) in children and adolescents. METHODS: The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood questionnaire and a questionnaire that provides data on the history of respiratory infections and the use of antibiotics were used to obtain data from patients. The relationship between the presence of asthma or allergic rhinitis and the occurrence of respiratory infections in childhood was analyzed. RESULTS: We interviewed the caregivers of 531 children aged 0 to 15 years. The average age of participants was 7.43 years, with females accounting for 52.2%. This study found significant relationship between: presence of asthma or allergic rhinitis with RRI, with prevalence ratio (PR) of 2.47 (1.51-4.02) and 1.61 (1.34-1.93), respectively; respiratory allergies with use of antibiotics for respiratory problems, with PR of 5.32 (2.17-13.0) for asthma and of 1.64 (1.29-2.09) for allergic rhinitis; asthma and allergic rhinitis with diseases of the lower respiratory airways, with PR of 7.82 (4.63-13.21) and 1.65 (1.38-1.96), respectively. In contrast, no relationship between upper respiratory airway diseases and asthma and allergic rhinitis was observed, with PR of 0.71 (0.35-1.48) and 1.30 (0.87-1.95), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: RRI is associated with previous atopic diseases, and these conditions should be considered when treating children.

Frequencies of genetic variants of the Rh, Kell, Duffy, Kidd, MNS and Diego systems of northwest Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

INTRODUCTION: To date, 340 antigen-organized 43 blood group systems are recognized, being ABO, Rh, Kell, Duffy, Kidd, MNS and Diego the most clinically relevant. The aim of this study was to assess the distribution of alleles and genotypes of the blood group systems Rh, Kell, Duffy, Kidd, MNS and Diego in 810 blood donors registered in the hemotherapy unit in northwest Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil METHODS: We evaluated the genetic variability of blood groups Rh (c.676G>C and c.307C>T), Kell (c.578C>T), Kidd (c.838A>G), Duffy (c.125A>G and c.1-67T>C), Diego (c.2561C>T) and MNS (c.143T>C) in 810 volunteer blood donors of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. The genetic profiling was performed through allelic discrimination assays using hydrolysis probes (TaqMan®) real-time PCR system. RESULTS: The most frequent blood group genotypes found in our study population were: RHC*Cc (51.5%), RHC*ee (70.1%), FY*A/FY*B (49.3%), GATA -67T/T (93.5%), KEL*2/KEL*2 (93.4%), JK*A/JK*B (53.2%) and DI*02/DI*02 (95.4%). Some statistical differences were observed on comparing the population of this study with populations from other states in Brazil, mainly with population of Minas Gerais, Bahia and Paraná, which showed some differences from the population of Porto Alegre, which was more similar to those of Santa Catarina and São Paulo CONCLUSION: The frequency of red blood cell polymorphisms in our study is different from that of blood donors in other regions of Brazil. The results showed the importance of extended genotyping in adequate blood screening and the existence of rare genotypes in Brazilian regular blood donors.

What's New in Allergen Immunotherapy Patents? A Review.

In recent years, allergies are on the rise. The growth of allergies cases has changed the immune system's response to new pathogens. The therapy used to treat these diseases is based on allergen avoidance, pharmacotherapy and allergen-specific immunotherapy. The last one has received a lot of interest in the research field, due to the possibility of leading the patient to a cure. In this sense, new allergen immunotherapy need to be developed or improved to increase safety and efficiency. This review aims to evaluate patents published, from 2015 to July 2020, that have developed allergic immunotherapy treatment and administration routes, as well as new alternatives of vehicles, carriers and delivery systems in this context. The advance of new patents has been mostly seen in China and United States. The oral route is the most used in the development of new allergy treatments. However, due to the challenges that still exist in allergy therapy, association with other pathways is interesting to amplify the possibilities and alternatives of treatment. Thus, other routes of administration for allergen-specific immunotherapy such as topical, sublingual and intranasal have been explored in the research and industrial fields. Nevertheless, it has been observed that few studies are using these alternative administration routes, probably due to the higher cost and lack of investments. The delivery systems are also other tools that can be more explored in the allergen immunotherapy formulations. The effectiveness, safety and acceptance of this therapy depends on the development of new formulations and routes of administration.

Proinflammatory and oxidative stress markers in patients with periodontal disease.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the involvement of proinflammatory and oxidative stress markers in gingival tissue in individuals with chronic periodontitis. SUBJECT AND METHODS: Eighteen subjects were divided in two groups: experimental (age 52.9+/-5.0) and control (age 51.1+/-9.6). The activities of enzymatic antioxidants such as catalase, glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione S-transferase (GST), glutathione reductase, nonenzymatic antioxidants: total glutathione and reduced glutathione, oxidized glutathione (GSSG), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), and myeloperoxidase activity (MPO) were evaluated in gingival tissues from interproximal sites. Statistical differences between groups were determined by independent Student t test and P<.05. RESULTS: Individuals with periodontal disease exhibited a significant increase in the activities of MPO, GPx, GST, and also in TBARS and GSSG levels in gingival tissue compared to the control group (P<.05). CONCLUSION: The results of the present work showed an important correlation between oxidative stress biomarkers and periodontal disease.

Oxidative stress in chronic cardiopathy associated with Chagas disease.

BACKGROUND: Chagas disease is characterized by chronic inflammation similar to autoimmune diseases. The imbalance between prooxidant and antioxidant defenses is known as oxidative stress, and is often associated with inflammatory processes of many diseases. METHODS: The present work measured some components of the antioxidant system present in the blood of four groups of patients in different stages of chronic Chagas heart disease (n=10 each group), according to the modified Los Andes clinical-hemodynamic classification. Each group of chagasic patients was compared with four groups of healthy subjects, and chagasic group IV was compared to group V, characterized by rheumatic cardiac disease, giving a total of 90 subjects. Antioxidant enzymes including superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione S-transferase (GST), and the contents of reduced (GSH), oxidized (GSSG) and total glutathione (TG) were assayed. RESULTS: SOD, CAT and GR activities showed essentially no differences among the four groups, however, intraerythrocytic GSH concentrations showed decreased values parallel to the progression of the disease. In addition, the glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities were higher in groups III and V and lower in groups I, II and IV, also suggesting an antioxidant depletion with progression of the disease. In contrast, except for SOD and CAT activities, patients from group V showed a generally higher antioxidant capacity compared to the chagasic group IV. CONCLUSION: The results indicate a general increase of oxidative stress parallel to the progression of Chagas disease.