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Immunomodulatory proteins in human milk (HM) can shape infant immune development. However, strategies to modulate their levels are currently unknown. This study investigated whether maternal prebiotic supplementation alters the levels of immunomodulatory proteins in HM.
Respiratory syncytial virus contributes to significant global infant morbidity and mortality. We applied a previously developed statistical prediction model incorporating pre-pandemic RSV testing data and hospital admission data to estimate infant RSV-hospitalizations by birth month and prematurity, focused on infants aged <1 year.
Rhinoviruses (RVs) can cause severe wheezing illnesses in young children and patients with asthma. Vaccine development has been hampered by the multitude of RV types with little information about cross-neutralization. We previously showed that neutralizing antibody (nAb) responses to RV-C are detected twofold to threefold more often than those to RV-A throughout childhood. Based on those findings, we hypothesized that RV-C infections are more likely to induce either cross-neutralizing or longer-lasting antibody responses compared with RV-A infections.
Results from recent clinical studies suggest potential efficacy of immune training (IT)-based approaches for protection against severe lower respiratory tract infections in infants, but underlying mechanisms are unclear.
Bronchiectasis (not related to cystic fibrosis) is a chronic lung disease caused by a range of etiologies but characterized by abnormal airway dilatation, recurrent respiratory symptoms, impaired quality of life and reduced life expectancy.
In 2014, germline signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) 3 gain-of-function (GOF) mutations were first described to cause a novel multisystem disease of early-onset lymphoproliferation and autoimmunity.
Influenza vaccination of children with medical comorbidities is critical due their increased risks for severe influenza disease. In Australia, hospitals are an avenue for influenza vaccine delivery to children with comorbidities but are not always effectively utilised. Qualitative enquiry sought to ascertainment the barriers and enablers for influenza vaccination recommendation, delivery, and recording of these children at Australian hospitals.
There are well-described sex-based differences in how the immune system operates. In particular, cisgender (cis) females have a more easily activated immune system; associated with an increased prevalence of autoimmune diseases and adverse events following vaccinations. Conversely, cis males have a higher threshold for immune activation, and are more prone to certain infectious diseases, such as coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Vaccine hesitancy and suboptimal vaccine uptake pose significant threats to public health, but modifiable psychological factors underpinning them are under-investigated. We examined the prevalence of spontaneous emotional mental imagery relating to infectious diseases and perinatal vaccines and its unique associations with vaccine hesitancy and uptake behaviour.
Previous research has shown that immune development during the first week of life, i.e. ontogeny, is progressive, consistent and robust, involving large numbers of differentially expressed genes at each sampled time point.