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Viral infections and atopy in asthma pathogenesis: New rationales for asthma prevention and treatmentProspective birth cohort studies tracking asthma initiation and consolidation in community cohorts have identified viral infections occurring against a...
Research
Vitamin D 3 deficiency enhances allergen-induced lymphocyte responses in a mouse model of allergic airway diseaseIn this study, using a mouse model, we determined whether vitamin D deficiency in utero and during early life modulated the severity of asthma.
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Severity and persistence of asthma and mental health: a birth cohort studyThe goal of the current study was to investigate asthma and mental health among youth in the community.
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Genome-wide association analysis identifies 11 risk variants associated with the asthma with hay fever phenotypePrevious analyses of family data from the Tasmanian Longitudinal Health Study provide evidence that this phenotype has a stronger genetic cause than asthma...

The Children's Lung Health Team investigates lung growth and development through infancy, childhood, adolescence and early adulthood, in health and in chronic lung disease, and the impact of preterm birth on lung health outcomes.

The Respiratory Environmental Health team conducts research in early life determinants of lung growth and development, respiratory environmental health, and mechanisms of airway dysfunction in asthma and other respiratory disease.
Research
Real world effectiveness of early ensitrelvir treatment in patients with SARS-CoV-2, a retrospective case seriesEnsitrelvir, a 3C-like protease inhibitor, received emergency approval in Japan in November 2022 for treating non-hospitalized patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19. However, confirmation of its real-world clinical effectiveness is limited.
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Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand (TSANZ) position statement on chronic suppurative lung disease and bronchiectasis in children, adolescents and adults in Australia and New ZealandThis 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.
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ACE2 expression is elevated in airway epithelial cells from older and male healthy individuals but reduced in asthmaCOVID-19 is complicated by acute lung injury, and death in some individuals. It is caused by SARS-CoV-2 that requires the ACE2 receptor and serine proteases to enter AEC. We determined what factors are associated with ACE2 expression particularly in patients with asthma and COPD. We obtained lower AEC from 145 people from two independent cohorts, aged 2-89 years, Newcastle (n = 115) and Perth (n = 30), Australia. The Newcastle cohort was enriched with people with asthma (n = 37) and COPD (n = 38). Gene expression for ACE2 and other genes potentially associated with SARS-CoV-2 cell entry was assessed by qPCR, and protein expression was confirmed with immunohistochemistry on endobronchial biopsies and cultured AEC.
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Childhood vaccination and allergy: A systematic review and meta-analysisAs the rise in prevalence of allergic diseases worldwide corresponds in time with increasing infant vaccination, it has been hypothesized that childhood vaccination may increase the risk of allergic disease. We aimed to synthesize the literature on the association between childhood vaccination and allergy.