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With the emergence of allergic and autoimmune diseases in populations that have started to transit to a western lifestyle, there has been an increasing...

For 20 years, the hygiene hypothesis has dominated attempts to explain the increasing prevalence of allergic disease. A causal link between maternal innate immu

The glutathione S-transferase enzymes (GSTs) play an important role in the detoxification of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), which contributes to airway infl

Impaired interferon response and allergic sensitization may contribute to virus-induced wheeze and asthma development in young children. Plasmacytoid dendritic cells play a key role in antiviral immunity as critical producers of type I interferons. 

This position statement, updated from the 2015 guidelines for managing Australian and New Zealand children/adolescents and adults with chronic suppurative lung disease (CSLD) and bronchiectasis, resulted from systematic literature searches by a multi-disciplinary team that included consumers.

Research question: Are asthma and allergies more common in adolescents conceived with assisted reproductive technologies (ART) compared with adolescents conceived without?

Excessive production, secretion, and retention of abnormal mucus is a pathological feature of many obstructive airways diseases including asthma. Azithromycin is an antibiotic that also possesses immunomodulatory and mucoregulatory activities, which may contribute to the clinical effectiveness of azithromycin in asthma.

The earliest respiratory function assessments, within or close to the neonatal period, consistently show correlations with lung function and with the development of asthma into adulthood. Measurements of lung function in infancy reflect the in utero period of lung development, and if early enough, show little influence of postnatal environmental exposures. 

Mothers with asthma or atopy have a higher likelihood of having autistic children, with maternal immune activation in pregnancy implicated as a mechanism. This study aimed to determine, in a prospective cohort of mothers with asthma and their infants, whether inflammatory gene expression in pregnancy is associated with likelihood of future autism. 

Respiratory infection and wheezing illness are leading causes of hospitalisation in childhood, placing a significant burden on families and healthcare systems. However, reliably distinguishing children at risk of developing persistent disease from those likely to outgrow their symptoms remains a clinical challenge. Earlier identification would allow clinicians to focus care and resources on those most likely to benefit from long-term management, while reducing anxiety and uncertainty about the future for families.