Clinical effectiveness of a mite allergen-impermeable bed-covering system in asthmatic mite-sensitive patients.

Contains fulltext : 58660.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)BACKGROUND: Exposure to allergens plays a role in the development of bronchial hyperresponsiveness and in the chronic inflammatory response seen in asthmatic patients. House dust mites (HDMs) are an important source of allergen. Reduction of these allergens might lead to better lung function and reduction of asthma symptoms. OBJECTIVE: The effect of HDM-impermeable covers on HDM allergen levels, peak flow values, and asthma symptoms were measured. Therefore a randomized clinical trial was carried out. METHODS: Fifty-two allergic asthmatic patients were randomly allocated to use the HDM-impermeable or placebo covers. During the study period, daily peak flow and asthma symptom scores were recorded. Dust samples were taken from the mattresses. RESULTS: We observed a significant reduction in HDM allergen levels on the mattresses after encasing them with HDM-impermeable covers (reduction of 87% of Der p 1 in micrograms per gram of dust; P <.001). Baseline symptoms were so low that no improvement could be established. Morning peak expiratory flow is significantly higher in the intervention group compared with that seen in the placebo group during the study period (beta=20.2; P <.01). CONCLUSIONS: HDM-impermeable covers significantly decreased the level of HDM allergens. Furthermore, morning peak flow was significantly increased during the intervention period. This study indicates that HDM allergen-avoidance measures might have beneficial effects on allergen reduction and asthma outcome

Helpen huisstofmijtwerende hoezen?

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Influence of house dust mite impermeable covers on health-related quality of life of adult patients with asthma: results of a randomized clinical trial

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of house dust mite impermeable covers on asthma-specific health-related quality of life in adult asthmatic patients that were trained in guided self-management. In a 2-year randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial, information on the quality of life was collected. The improvement of Mini Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ) score in the allergens-avoidance group (0.26) was comparable to the improvement in the placebo group (0.30) and not significant. HDM-impermeable covers for pillows, duvets, and mattresses did not result in improved health-related quality of life

Identification of refugia and post-glacial colonisation routes of European white oaks based on chloroplast DNA and fossil pollen evidence

The geographic distribution throughout Europe of each of 32 chloroplast DNA variants belonging to eight white oak species sampled from 2613 populations is presented. Clear-cut geographic patterns were revealed by the survey. These distributions, together with the available palynological information, were used to infer colonisation routes out of the glacial period refugia. In western Europe in particular, movements out of the Iberian and the Italian Peninsulas can be clearly identified. Separate refugia are also present in eastern Balkans, whereas further west in this peninsula similarities with Italy were evident. Movements resulting in the exchange of haplotypes between refugia both during the present interglacial and probably also during earlier glacial cycles were therefore inferred. The consequences of these past exchanges is that phylogenetically divergent haplotypes have sometimes followed very similar colonisation routes, limiting somewhat the phylogeographic structure. Cases of geographic disjunction in the present-day distribution of haplotypes are also apparent and could have been induced by the existence of rapid climatic changes at the end of the glacial period (specifically the Younger Dryas cold period), which resulted in range restriction following an early warm period during which oak first expanded from its primary refugia. This cold phase was followed by a new period of expansion at the outset of the Holocene, involving in some cases ‘secondary’ refugia. It is expected that these short climate oscillations would have led to a partial reshuffling of haplotype distribution. Early association between haplotypes and oak species are also suggested by the data, although extensive introgression among species has ultimately largely blurred the pattern. This implies that colonisation routes may have been initially constrained by the ecological characteristics of the species hosting each chloroplast variant. We suggest for instance that two oak species distributed in the north of the Iberian Peninsula (Quercus petraea and Q. pubescens) are recent post-glacial immigrants there. When considered together, conclusions on the location of glacial period refugia and the colonisation routes derived from molecular information and fossil pollen data appear to be both largely compatible and complementary.Rémy J. Petit; Simon Brewer; Sándor Bordács; Kornel Burg; Rachid Cheddadi; Els Coart; Joan Cottrell; Ulrike M. Csaikl; Barbara van Dam; John D. Deans; Santiago Espinel; Silvia Fineschi; Reiner Finkeldey; Izabela Glaz; Pablo G. Goicoechea; Jan Svejgaard Jensen; Armin O. König; Andrew J. Lowe; Søren Flemming Madsen; Gabor Mátyás; Robert C. Munro; Flaviu Popescu; Danko Slade; Helen Tabbener; Sven G. M. de Vries; Birgit Ziegenhagen; Jacques-Louis de Beaulieu and Antoine Kremerhttp://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/503310/description#descriptio

Chloroplast DNA variation in European white oaks: Phylogeography and patterns of diversity based on data from over 2600 populations

A consortium of 16 laboratories have studied chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) variation in European white oaks. A common strategy for molecular screening, based on restriction analysis of four PCR-amplified cpDNA fragments, was used to allow comparison among the different laboratories. A total of 2613 oak populations (12,214 individual trees from eight species) weresampled from 37 countries, and analysed with the four fragments. They belong to eight related oak species: Quercus robur, Q. petraea, Q. pubescens, Q. frainetto, Q. faginea, Q. pyrenaica, Q. canariensis and Q. macranthera. During this survey, 45 chloroplast variants were detected and are described together with their phylogenetic relationships, but several of these haplotypes were pooled when there were some risks of confusion across laboratories during the survey, and finally 32 remained that were mapped and used in diversity analyses. A strong phylogeographic structure is apparent from the data, where related haplotypes have broadly similar geographic distributions. In total, six cpDNA lineages are identified, which have distinct geographic distributions, mainly along a longitudinal gradient. Most haplotypes found in northern Europe are also present in the south, whereas the converse is not true, suggesting that the majority of mutations observed were generated prior to postglacial recolonisation, corroborating the conclusions of earlier studies. The description of a new western European lineage constitutes a major finding, compared to earlier phylogenetic treatments. Although the eight oak species studied systematically share cpDNA variants when in sympatry, they partition cpDNA diversity differently, as a consequence of their different ecology and life history attributes. Regional differences in levels of differentiation also exist (either species-specific or general); these seem to be related to the intensity of past and present management of the forests across Europe but also to the level of fragmentation of the range within these regions. © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.Remy J. Petit, Ulrike M. Csaikl, Sandor Bordacs, Kornel Burg, Els Coart, Joan Cottrell, Barbara van Dam, John D. Deans, Sylvie Dumolin-Lapegue, Silvia Fineschi, Reiner Finkeldey, Amanda Gillies, Izabela Glaz, Pablo G. Goicoechea Jan S. Jensen Armin O. Konig, Andrew J. Lowe, Søren F. Madsen, Gabor Matyas, Robert C. Munro, Maria Olalde, Marie-Helene Pemonge, Flaviu Popescu, Danko Slade, Helen Tabbener, Daniela Taurchini, Sven G.M. de Vries, Birgit Ziegenhagen, Antoine Kremerhttp://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/503310/description#descriptio