Influence of month of birth on house dust mite allergy

We determined the birth month of a sample of 208 patients with bronchial asthma or rhinitis and positive skin test to house dust mite. The majority of patients were born in the summer and autumn months. The increased incidence of house dust mite allergy in patients born in the months of July to September, when house dust mites are most abundant, corresponds to a relative risk of 1.43. It is important that exposure to house dust mites in early childhood is kept to a minimum as exposure to allergens may influence the development of allergic disease in later life. Copyright © 1991, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserve

Neutrophil chemotaxis in children with extrinsic bronchial asthma.

PubMedID: 8055555Chemotactic activities of neutrophils were studied in 20 patients with bronchial asthma and 20 healthy matched controls. Chemotaxis studies were performed by the millipore filter technique using modified Boyden chambers. Mean neutrophil chemotactic activities of asthma and control groups were 17.82 +/- 7.87 microns and 14.09 +/- 6.07 microns; mean chemotactic indexes were 2.04 +/- 0.44 and 1.84 +/- 0.60 and mean random migrations were 9.53 +/- 4.61 microns and 7.93 +/- 3.33 microns, respectively. No significant difference was found between the two groups (p > 0.05)

Mold allergy in Adana, Turkey.

PubMedID: 8059675In order to investigate the possible role of molds in respiratory allergy, skin prick tests with the extracts of 19 different fungi were applied to 614 respiratory allergic patients. Indoor mold samples of some of these mold sensitive patients are also presented. Most of the patients (72.6%) had extrinsic asthma while 27.4% having allergic rhinitis. The diagnosis was based on history, clinical examination and skin prick test which was done according to Peppy's method. Aspergillus fumigatus was the most important fungus causing skin test positivity (26.0%). Trichophyton rubrum, Mucor, Penicillium notatum, Aspergillus niger and Alternaria tenius species were also important in decreasing frequencies. A total of 26 species were isolated and Penicillium was the most important one (29.6%). Molds are thought to play an important role as causative agents for allergic rhinitis and asthma

Inhalant allergens: As a cause of respiratory allergy in east Mediterranean area, Turkey

PubMedID: 8766742Inhalant allergens were identified by analyzing the positive skin tests of 614 respiratory allergic patients. The important indoor allergens causing skin test positivity were house dust, Dermatophogoides pteronyssinus, cockroach, mosquito and Dermatophogoides farinea. Johnson grass, cultivated wheat, rye, orchard, and cultivated corn were among important grass pollens. Animal allergens like cow hair, cat and dog dander, bird and chicken feathers and horse hair caused skin test positivity in our allergic patients. Weeds and garden plants were also among important inhalant allergens in this region. Common cocklebur, narcissus, rose, mugworth, and daisy caused skin test positivity in decreasing frequencies. Carob, willow, poplar, olive and cypress pollens were among important inhalant allergens causing skin test positivity that may be important cause of respiratory allergy in this region

Pneumomediastinum and pneumopericardium: Unusual and rare complications of asthma in a 4 years old girl

PubMedID: 11449532We describe a 4-year-old girl with asthma who presented with pneumomediastinum, pneumopericardium and subcutaneous emphysema. She was admitted to our hospital with dyspnea, chest pain, palpitation and cough of two days duration. She had attacks of cough, dyspnea and wheezing from two years of age, but she did not have a diagnosis of asthma previously. She was dyspneic and had subcutaneous emphysema in the neck, axilla and thorax. In the skin prick test (Center Lab. USA) she had positive reaction to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, Dermatophagoides farinae, mold mix, tree mix and grass mix. Pulmonary function tests could not be performed. In the chest X-ray air was seen in mediastinum and subcutaneous area and the epicardium was surrounded completely with air. She was treated successfully with inhaled salbutamol and budesonide. Radiological signs of pneumopericardium and pneumomediastinum disappeared completely in ten days period. In the light of this case we want to mention that early diagnosis and treatment of asthma should be done to prevent serious complication of asthma

Production of flavor compounds from olive mill waste by Rhizopus oryzae and Candida tropicalis

The purpose of this study was to investigate the production of flavor compounds from olive mill waste by microbial fermentation of Rhizopus oryzae and Candida tropicalis. Olive mill waste fermentations were performed in shake and bioreactor cultures. Production of flavor compounds from olive mill waste was followed by Gas Chromatography Mass spectrometry, Gas chromatography- olfactometry and Spectrum Sensory Analysis. As a result, 1.73-log and 3.23-log cfu/mL increases were observed in the microbial populations of R. oryzae and C. tropicalis during shake cultures, respectively. C. tropicalis can produce a higher concentration of n-limonene from olive mill waste than R. oryzae in shake cultures. The concentration of n-limonene was determined as 185.56 and 249.54 mu g/kg in the fermented olive mill waste by R. oryzae and C. tropicalis in shake cultures respectively. In contrast, R. oryzae can produce a higher concentration of n-limonene (87.73 mu g/kg) n-limonene than C. tropicalis (11.95 mu g/kg) in bioreactor cultures. Based on sensory analysis, unripe olive, wet towel, sweet aromatic, fermented aromas were determined at high intensity in olive mill waste fermented with R. oryzae meanwhile olive mill waste fermented with C. tropicalis had only a high intensity of unripe olive and oily aroma

Two year follow-up of clinical and inflammation parameters in children monosensitized to mites undergoing subcutaneous and sublingual immunotherapy

PubMedID: 24053706Background: Both SCIT (subcutaneous immunotherapy) and SLIT (sublingual immunotherapy) have clinical and immunologic efficacy in children with rhinitis and asthma but comparative studies are scarce. Objective: To investigate the clinical and immunological efficacy of mite-specific SLIT and SCIT in children with rhinitis and asthma. Method: Thirty children monosensitized to house dust mite were randomized to receive either active SCIT or SLIT or placebo for 1 yr in a double-blind double-dummy placebo controlled design (Yukselen A et al., Int Arch Allergy Immunol 2012; 157:288-298). Thereafter, the placebo group was randomized to receive SCIT or SLIT, and for 1 yr all patients received active treatment with SCIT or SLIT. Symptom scores, drug usage, titrated skin prick tests, nasal and bronchial allergen provocation doses, serum house dust mite-specific immunglobulin E, sIgG4, IL-10 and IFN- ? levels were evaluated. Results: The reduction of clinical scores with SLIT was more evident after 2 years of treatment in comparison to both the baseline and DBPC phase of the study. The change in titrated skin prick tests and nasal provocative doses was more prominent with both SCIT and SLIT at the end of the open phase. Although the increase in bronchial provocative doses was not significant at the end of the first year of treatment with SLIT, it reached a statistically significant difference after two years of treatment. Conclusion: The clinical efficacy of SLIT is more prominent at the end of the second year, although this improvement is observed from the first year of treatment with SCIT in mite-sensitive children

Eczema prevalence and affecting risk factors in the Adana and Payas (Hatay)

Bu çalışmada, egzema prevalansını ve etkileyen risk faktörlerini araştırmayı amaçladık. Çalışma, 6-18 yaş arasındaki okul çağı çocukları rasgele seçilerek yapıldı. Soru listesi, International Study of Asthma and Allergies In Childhood (ISAAC) soru listesi temel alınarak oluşturuldu. Adana'da 3164 (% 51.9 kız, % 48.1 erkek), Payas'ta 1353 (% 50.5 kız, % 49.5 erkek) öğrenci çalışmaya dahil edildi. Egzema prevalansı; Adana'da % 8.3, Payasta ise % 9.3 olarak saptandı. Bu iki yerleşim birimindeki fark istatistiksel olarak anlamlı değildi (p=0.27). Ailesel atopi, allerjik rinit ve astımın öğrencide bulunması, Adana ve Payas'taki çocuklarda egzema için risk oluşturmaktaydı (P0.05). Payas'taki çocuklar için ise annenin sigara içmesi, çocukların tüylü oyuncağının olması egzema için risk oluştururken (p0.05).The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of eczema and factors affecting eczema among schoolchildren in Adana and Payas, Hatay. The prevalence survey was conducted in schoolchildren aged 6-18 years old. The questionnaire was based on the ISAAC questionnaires and was distributed among primary and secondary schoolchildren. If the children were younger than 12 years of age their parent completed the questionnaire. This study was done among 3164 students in Adana (51.9 % boys, 48.1 % girls) and among 1353 students in Payas (% 49.5 boys, 50.5 % girls). The prevalence of eczema was found 8.3 % in Adana and 9.3 % in Payas. The family histories of atopy, dampness at home, allergic rhinitis, bronchitis, rhinitis, history of frequent sinusitis, rhinitis and sinusitis in the last year were found to be significantly higher in both cities. On the other hand, the heating systems, sexuality, father smoking habits, the smoking habits at home, presence of domestic animals at home weren't important for eczema in both the cities. In addition toys made out of feather's, smoking habits among mother's were found to be significantly higher for eczema in Payas, but it wasn't same for Adana. In comparison to children aged 15-18 years among eczema children, the age group 6-10 and one or more packet of cigarette smoking at home was higher risk in Adana but there weren't the same risks among student in Payas

Evaluation of the Rapid Polymyxin NP test and its industrial version for the detection of polymyxin-resistant Enterobacteriaceae.

The commercial Rapid Polymyxin NP test was evaluated to detect colistin-resistant Enterobacteriaceae. A total of 223 enterobacterial isolates corresponding to 136 resistant (including 38 MCR-like producers), 19 heteroresistant, and 78 colistin-susceptible isolates were tested. The test was performed according to the manufacturer's instruction, and the color of the wells was read after 2 and 3 hours of incubation. The results were compared with those of the homemade Rapid Polymyxin NP test, and manual broth microdilution according to EUCAST guidelines was used as the reference method to determine the performance of the test. Excellent performance of the commercial Rapid Polymyxin NP test was found with a very major error rate, a major error rate, a sensitivity, and a specificity of 1.9%, 5.1%, 98.1%, and 94.9%, respectively. The performance of the homemade Polymyxin NP test was similar, with a slightly better value for the very major error (1.2 %)