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Defective respiratory tract immune surveillance in asthma : A primary causal factor in disease onset and progression

The relative importance of respiratory viral infections vs inhalant allergy in asthma pathogenesis is the subject of ongoing debate.

Prevention - what is the most promising approach?

This paper is an editorial comment by Professor Patrick Holt on the potential for developing early intervention strategies in children with allergies and asthma

Safety and Immunogenicity of Neonatal Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccination in Papua New Guinean Children: A Randomised Controlled Trial

We conducted an open randomized controlled trial in Papua New Guinea to compare safety, immunogenicity and priming for memory of 7-valent PCV (PCV7) given in...

Neonatal antigen-presenting cells are functionally more quiescent in children born under traditional compared with modern environmental conditions

One explanation for the high burden of allergic and autoimmune diseases in industrialized countries is inappropriate immune development under modern...

Fish oil supplementation in early infancy modulates developing infant immune responses

Maternal fish oil supplementation during pregnancy has been associated with altered infant immune responses and a reduced risk of infant sensitization and...

Defective aeroallergen surveillance by airway mucosal dendritic cells as a determinant of risk

A hallmark of atopic asthma is development of chronic airways hyper-responsiveness (AHR) that persists in the face of ongoing exposure to perennial...

Viral infections and atopy in asthma pathogenesis: New rationales for asthma prevention and treatment

Prospective birth cohort studies tracking asthma initiation and consolidation in community cohorts have identified viral infections occurring against a...

Ontogeny of toll-like and NOD-like receptor-mediated innate immune responses in Papua New Guinean infants

Studies addressing the ontogeny of the innate immune system in early life have reported mainly on Toll-like receptor (TLR) responses in infants living in...

Febrile respiratory illnesses in infancy and atopy are risk factors for persistent asthma and wheeze

The aim of this study was to explore associations between severe respiratory infections and atopy in early childhood with persisting wheeze and asthma.

Virus infection and allergy in the development of asthma: What is the connection?

Information is accumulating which implicates airway inflammation resulting from respiratory viral infections, acting against a background of atopy.