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Recent studies have reported a relationship between vitamin D and atopic diseases such as asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis, which is due to the recently discovered vitamin D receptors on many immune system cells. Among all atopic diseases, asthma has been studied the most in this regard. However, the role of vitamin D in other atopic diseases such as allergic rhinitis and atopic dermatitis is a matter of controversy. In this paper, we review the literature on the association between atopic diseases and vitamin D level with a focus on the childhood period. As of today, the role of vitamin D in atopic march is not clear and studies show controversial results. Therefore, further studies with adequate sample sizes and correction for perplexing factors are needed since this could be an innovative treatment in atopic children. It is also advisable to examine high-risk groups of children for vitamin D deficiency. According to the extracted data, vitamin D has a protecting effect against atopic diseases. At the same time, no evidence was found for such an association in some studies, thus, further studies are needed to clarify this issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The active form of vitamin D is synthesized in some body organs following sun exposure and dietary intake. Vitamin D exhibits its major and critical effects not only through regulation of calcium and phosphate metabolism but also by influencing on respiratory and immune system. Serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D below the optimum limit lead to vitamin D insufficiency or maybe deficiency. These inappropriate concentrations of vitamin D lead to different types of pulmonary diseases such as viral and bacterial respiratory infection, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and cancer. In this review we described the association between vitamin D deficiency and severe therapy resistant asthma. We also reviewed the underlying molecular mechanism of vitamin D deficiency in children with severetherapy resistant asthma. Based on current information, future clinical trial are needed to study the role of vitamin D supplementation on different groups of patients with severe asthma including infants, children of school age, and ethnic minorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Febrile convulsion (FC) is the most common type of seizure in childhood that occurs in 2-5 % of the children younger than 6 years. Interleukin 1β (IL-1β) is a cytokine that contributes to febrile inflammatory responses. There are conflicting results on increasing this cytokine in serum during FC. Thus we measured IL-1β in febrile children with or without seizure. 60 febrile children (6 months to 5 years old) were divided in two groups, one group consisted of 30 children with FC, the other group consisting of 30 children without seizure which served as control. Blood samples were collected from members of both groups and serum samples were prepared. Interleukin 1β concentrations were measured using a commercial Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. We found that there was a difference in serum levels of Interleukin 1β between FC and control group but it was not significant. This result may be due to the low number of samples or the result of Interleukin 1β binding to some large proteins such as 12- macroglobolin, complement and soluble type 2 Interleukin 1 receptor, that affected the free Interleukin 1β concentration. We could not find a significant relationship between serum Interleukin 1β concentration and FC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic granulomatous disease (CGD), a rare inherited primary immunodeficiency disorder, is caused by mutation in any one of the genes encoding components of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH)-oxidase enzyme. NCF2 gene (encoding P67-phox component) is one of them and its mutation is less common to cause CGD (around 5-6%). Here, we assessed mutation analysis of NCF2 in 4 CGD patients with p67-phox defect in Iran. These patients showed classical CGD symptoms. NCF2 sequence analyses revealed two different homozygous mutations including a nonsense mutation in exon 4, c.304C>T (Arg 102X) in one case and a CA deletion in exon 13 (Leu346fsX380) in one brother and sister; the latter is a new mutation which has not been reported in previous studies. In another patient in whom the attempts to amplify exon 2 individually from genomic DNA were unsuccessful, PCR amplification of exon 2 revealed no band of this exon on agarose gel. A PCR amplification mix of exon 2 and exon 7, with an internal control, confirmed the lack of exon 2 in this patient. Although a gross deletion in other exons of NCF2 has been previously reported, a large deletion encompassing exon 2 has been not reported yet. This abstract was also presented in ESID 2012, Florence, Italy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Evaluating the effect of zinc sulfate in improving the clinical manifestations of acute bronchiolitis in children younger than 2 years. Methods: This was a double blind pilot trial on 50 patients aged 2 to 23 months at Ghaem and Dr. Sheikh Hospitals in Mashhad from January 2008 to March 2009. Patients were randomly divided into two groups: a case group received oral zinc sulfate and to the control group was given placebo. Findings: Mean age of case group was 168.0±108.6 days and control group 169.2±90.4 days (P=0.98) with male predominance in both groups. At first there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in reducing the symptoms. But 24 hours after treating, improvement of some important manifestations including tachypnea, subcostal and intercostal retraction, wheezing and cyanosis revealed statistically significant difference in control group in comparison with case group (P=0.04). Conclusion: Zinc sulfate has no benefit in improving clinical manifestations of acute bronchiolitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Systemic sclerosis is a generalized disorder of connective tissue clinically characterized by thickening and fibrosis of the skin and by distinctive forms of involvement of internal organs. One of the hallmarks of systemic sclerosis is the presence of serum autoantibodies against a variety of nuclear and cytoplasmic antigens. The primary purpose of this study was to identify the autoantibodies profile in the scleroderma sera and the secondary goal was to determine the correlation and discrepancy of autoantibody profile. Autoantibody profile was determined in 118 samples stored in the Advanced Diagnostic Laboratory at the University of Calgary. 78 sera were provided from Canadian and 40 sera were provided from Ukraine. We used the following techniques to identify autoantibodies profile in scleroderma patients: 1. Antinuclear antibody (ANA) by indirect immunofluorescence on human epithelial cell substrate 2. Detection and identification of specific autoantibodies by Innolia strip assay 3. Detection and identification of specific autoantibodies against extractable nuclear antigens. 111 out of 118 patients showed positive ANA results by indirect immunofluorescence and 7 patients had negative ANA results. Anti-ENA analyses by Inolia were positive in 84 patients, while by western blotting 81 patients showed positive results. In this study, we compared the results of anti-ENA antibody by Innolia with SLR technique. A significant correlation was found between anti-SCl-70 antibodies (P=0.000) and anti- RNP antibodies (P=0.001) and JO-1 antibodies (P=0.014). Thus, we may propose that SLR and Innolia techniques could be used for the detection of autoantibody in systemic sclerosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases in childhood. Parents have an important role in managing asthma in children. Studies have shown higher degree of depression and anxiety and lower family performance in mothers of asthmatic children in comparison with the control group. The aim of this study was to evaluate the parenting styles and also depression, anxiety and stress parameters in mothers of children with asthma. Material and Methods: This descriptive cross sectional study was performed on 45 mothers (case group) of 3 to 15 years old children with asthma that their disease had been diagnosed by a pediatrician. The parenting styles, as well as depression and anxiety of mothers were evaluated by using parenting scales, and the depression-anxiety-stress scales (DASS). The mothers were also asked to fill the strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ) for their children. Furthermore, parenting styles in case group were compared to mothers of children without asthma as control group. Results: The results of this study showed that 21 mothers (74.6%) were normal, but 12 mothers (26.7%) had mild, 9 (20%) moderate and 3 (6.7%) severe degree of abnormality according to DASS. Independent T test showed a significant difference between the case and control groups regarding depression in mothers and laxness (P<0.001), over reactivity (P<0.013) and verbosity (P<0.031) in children with asthma. Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrated that anxiety and depression are partially frequent in mothers of children with asthma, and parenting styles are less affective in these families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Acute exacerbations impose considerable morbidity, mortality, and increased cost. Viral respiratory infections are the most common cause (80-85%) of pediatric asthma exacerbations and admissions to the hospital. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of a new synbiotic Lactocare® on viral respiratory infections and asthma exacerbations in asthmatic children. Material and Methods: In this double blind controlled clinical trial, 72 children with mild persistent asthma, aged between 6 and 12 years, were randomized to receive either Lactocare®, a Synbiotic containing 1 billion CFU/Capsule of Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Streptococcus thermophilus, Bifidobacterium breve, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium infantis, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, and Fructooligosacharide (Zist Takhmir, Tehran, Iran) or placebo daily for 60 days. The primary outcome was the number of viral respiratory infections, and secondary outcomes were school absence, salbutamol and prednisolone usage, outpatient visits, and hospital admission for asthma. The outcomes were compared among study groups using the SPSS 11.5 program and the Mann Whitney and Fisher exact tests. Results: Of the 72 children who were enrolled with mild persistent asthma, 36 were assigned randomly to be treated with synbiotic and 36 with placebo. The number of viral respiratory infections was significantly higher in placebo group than the synbiotic group during the first month of intervention (0.74 ± 0.12 vs. 0.44 ± 0.1, p < 0.007) but not during the second month (0.5 ± 0.8 vs. 0.5 ± 0.8, p < 0.641). Considering the total duration of the study (two months), infection episodes also were significantly lower in the synbiotic group (0.92 ± 0.15 vs. 0.69 ± 0.11, p < 0.046). Salbutamol consumption was significantly lower in the synbiotic group, but there were no significant differences in school absenteeism, oral prednisolone use, outpatient visits, or hospital admissions. Conclusion: This new symbiotic, a mixture of seven probiotic strains plus fructooligosacharide may reduce episodes of viral infection in asthmatic children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying the causes of anaphylaxis which is an acute, potentially fatal systemic reaction is very important in every community. Treatment strategies and pitfalls should also be determined. We sought to determine the most common triggers of anaphylaxis, clinical manifestations and treatment strategies in Mashhad, northeast of Iran. An observational cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate all patients with a history of anaphylactic reaction who were referred to University Allergy Clinics between 2006 and 2016 in Mashhad Iran. We used a combination of patient's clinical history and allergy diagnostic testing including radioallergosorbant test and skin prick test in order to determine the etiology of anaphylaxis. We identified 172 anaphylactic reactions in 70 patients. Median age was 15 years with a range from 6 months to 48 years. The triggers included: foods, 61.4%; drugs, 15.7%; hymenoptera venom, 8.6%; idiopathic, 5.7%; immunotherapy, 4.3% and other etiologies: 5.7%. Nuts and seeds were the most important triggers of food induced anaphylaxis, especially in school children, adolescents and young adults, followed by fruits. However, Cow's milk and hen's egg were the main triggers of anaphylaxis in children aged under 2 years. The most common symptoms were cutaneous and cardiovascular. Corticosteroids (94.3%) and/or antihistamines (85.7%) were used most frequently for treatment followed by intravenous fluids (54.3%), whereas epinephrine was only used in 17.1% of the cases. Food related anaphylaxis and other typical triggers of anaphylaxis are age dependent and the risks and triggers change with age. Epinephrine injection should be increased by improving the awareness of physician and medical teams. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Medicine of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences (approved number: IR.MUMS.REC.1393.960)., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest There is no conflict of interest.