Leukotriene receptor antagonism may not be effective in atopic dermatitis treatment after all.

WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE: Literature evidence suggests leukotriene involvement in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis. This article aimed to discuss whether the off-label use of montelukast, a leukotriene receptor antagonist, is justifiable for the treatment of atopic dermatitis. COMMENT: Most non-randomized studies supported the use of montelukast for atopic dermatitis treatment. However, evidence from these studies should be interpreted with caution as it is relatively weak due to the absence of randomization, control groups and blinding processes, subjecting the results to high risk of selection and reporting biases. The inconsistent findings across RCTs may be related to the limited number of patients, nuances in study designs, varying severity of disease and the concomitant use of steroids in some of the studies. WHAT IS NEW AND CONCLUSION: Current literature evidence is limited to rationally support the use of montelukast in atopic dermatitis treatment. For now, the conventional treatments should be preferred in the clinical setting.

Proto-oncogene expression: a predictive assay for radiation biodosimetry applications.

Using a model system of in vitro human peripheral blood lymphocytes, the effect of low-dose (0.25 to 1.50 Gy) 250-kVp X ray radiation (1 Gy.min-1) on the expression of several proto-oncogenes was examined (c-Haras, c-src, c-met, c-jun, c-fos, and c-myc) and beta-actin from 0.25 to 17 h post-radiation. RNA was extracted from cells harvested at various times after exposure and examined for levels of particular mRNAs by northern blot hybridisation. A progressive time- and dose-dependent increase in mRNA levels was observed for c-Haras mRNA, while the other proto-oncogenes (c-src, c-met, c-fos, c-jun and c-myc) examined were variable during the same time period. beta-actin levels were initially decreased but at 17 h post-radiation had returned to control levels. A comparison of the rate of c-Haras transcription at 5 and 17 h post-irradiation revealed that c-Haras transcription was higher at 5 h than at 17 h. These findings suggest that the level of specific proto-oncogene expression, particularly c-Haras, may be useful early diagnostic molecular biomarkers for biodosimetry applications. The use of real-time PCR technologies to quantify gene expression changes will also be discussed.