Beclomethasone dipropionate aerosol in allergic rhinitis.

Treatment with beclomethasone dipropionate aerosol (BDA), 50 mug four times daily in each nostril, was compared with placebo therapy in a double-blind non-crossover trial of 30 matched patients with allergic rhinitis induced by ragweed pollen. The trial was started at the beginning of the ragweed season and continued for 42 days. Response to treatment was assessed from information on daily diary cards, weekly objective measurements of nasal patency and measurement of total eosinophil count (TEC) before treatment and at week 4. Patients in the BDA group had significantly less (P less than 0.05) sneezing, rhinorrhea and nasal stuffiness at 36 days, cough at 10 days and antihistamine consumption at 17 days. There was no significant difference between the groups in eye symptoms, nasal airway inspiratory resistance, maximum inspiratory nasal flow or TEC. Overall comparison with previous pollen seasons by the patients indicated moderate to great improvement in 86% of the BDA group and in 13% of the placebo group (P less than 0.01). Minor side effects were noted by two patients in each group.     

变应性鼻炎患者口咽部菌群分析

目的研究正常人与过敏性鼻炎患者口咽部菌群差异,探讨菌群定植的变化对过敏性鼻炎发生存在的影响。方法利用PCR-DGGE方法分析正常人与过敏性鼻炎患者口咽部菌群定植,并利用切胶测序分析DGGE图谱中两组样本之间的差异菌群。结果正常人与过敏性鼻炎患者口咽部菌群定植存在显著差异,与正常组相比,过敏性鼻炎患者口咽部菌群多样性显著增大,且类杆菌门的Prevotella pallens,厚壁菌门的Veillonella atypica、Veillonella parvula、Streptococcus salivarius,变形菌门的假单胞菌属Pseudomonas fluorescens的含量均高于正常人。结论过敏性鼻炎患者口咽部菌群多样性显著高于正常人,且以厚壁菌门和变形菌门的增加为特征。     

Nasal hyperreactivity and inflammation in allergic rhinitis

The history of allergic disease goes back to 1819, when Bostock described his own 'periodical affection of the eyes and chest', which he called 'summer catarrh'. Since they thought it was produced by the effluvium of new hay, this condition was also called hay fever. Later, in 1873, Blackley established that pollen played an important role in the causation of hay fever. Nowadays, the definition of allergy is 'An untoward physiologic event mediated by a variety of different immunologic reactions'. In this review, the term allergy will be restricted to the IgE-dependent reactions. The most important clinical manifestations of IgE-dependent reactions are allergic conjunctivitis, allergic rhinitis, allergic asthma and atopic dermatitis. However, this review will be restricted to allergic rhinitis. The histopathological features of allergic inflammation involve an increase in blood flow and vascular permeability, leading to plasma exudation and the formation of oedema. In addition, a cascade of events occurs which involves a variety of inflammatory cells. These inflammatory cells migrate under the influence of chemotactic agents to the site of injury and induce the process of repair. Several types of inflammatory cells have been implicated in the pathogenesis of allergic rhinitis. After specific or nonspecific stimuli, inflammatory mediators are generated from cells normally found in the nose, such as mast cells, antigen-presenting cells and epithelial cells (primary effector cells) and from cells recruited into the nose, such as basophils, eosinophils, lymphocytes, platelets and neutrophils (secondary effector cells). This review describes the identification of each of the inflammatory cells and their mediators which play a role in the perennial allergic processes in the nose of rhinitis patients.     

Escaping the trap of allergic rhinitis

Rhinitis is often the first symptom of allergy but is frequently ignored and classified as a nuisance condition. Ironically it has the greatest socioeconomic burden worldwide caused by its impact on work and on daily life.However, patients appear reticent to seek professional advice, visiting their doctor only when symptoms become ‘intolerable’ and often when their usual therapy proves ineffective.Clearly, it’s time for new and more effective allergic rhinitis treatments.MP29-02 (Dymista®; Meda, Solna, Sweden) is a new class of medication for moderate to severe seasonal and perennial allergic rhinitis if monotherapy with either intranasal antihistamine or intranasal corticosteroids is not considered sufficient.MP29-02 is a novel formulation of azelastine hydrochloride (AZE) and fluticasone propionate (FP). It benefits not only from the incorporation of two active agents, but also from a novel formulation; its lower viscosity, smaller droplet size, larger volume (137 μl) and wider spray angle ensure optimal coverage of, and retention on the nasal mucosa and contribute to its clinical efficacy.In clinical trials, patients treated with MP29-02 experienced twice the symptom relief as those treated with FP and AZE, who in turn exhibited significantly greater symptom relief than placebo-patients. Indeed, the advantage of MP29-02 over FP was approximately the same as that shown for FP over placebo. The advantage of MP29-02 was particularly evident in those patients for whom nasal congestion is predominant, with MP29-02 providing three times the nasal congestion relief of FP (p = 0.0018) and five times the relief of AZE (p = 0.0001). Moreover, patients treated with MP29-02 achieved each and every response up to a week faster than those treated with FP or AZE alone and in real life 1 in 2 patients reported the perception of well-controlled disease after only 3 days. MP29-02’s superiority over FP was also apparent long-term in patients with perennial allergic rhinitis or non-allergic rhinitis, with statistical significance noted from the first day of treatment, with treatment difference maintained for a full year.Taken together, these data suggest that MP29-02 may improve the lives of many of our patients, enabling them to finally escape the allergic rhinitis trap.     

Prostglandin E in the secretions of allergic rhinitis

Protaglandin (PG) was extracted was extracted from nasal secretions of individuals with hay fever and from nasal washings of normal subjects. The extract was chromatographed in a silicic acid column and the purified PGE fraction was converted to PGB by alkaline dehydration. The PGB was then measured by a competitive radioimmunoassay with tritiated PGB ₁ and anti-PGB₁ antibody, employing the double antibody technique. PGE was detected in the secretions of 6 of 12 hay fever patients and in the pooled normal nasal washings.     

过敏性鼻炎患儿肠道菌群变化 及双歧杆菌三联活菌散对其辅助治疗效果

摘要：目的 观察过敏性鼻炎患儿肠道菌群变化及双歧杆菌三联活菌散对其辅助治疗的效果。方法 选取我院就诊的过敏性鼻炎患儿60例,从中随机抽取10例为疾病组,并以10例体检的健康儿童为健康对照组,采集两组对象粪便标本,用高通量测序法对比过敏性鼻炎患儿与健康对照组肠道菌结构的差异。另一方面,将入选的60例过敏性鼻炎患儿分为对照组（30例,采用常规治疗）和治疗组（30例,常规治疗联合双歧杆菌三联活菌治疗）。两组患儿连续治疗8周后,观察其治疗前后临床症状评分及血清IL-4、IL-12、IgE水平变化。结果 过敏性鼻炎患儿肠道菌群多样性低于健康对照组。患儿肠道菌群以拟杆菌门为主,健康对照组以厚壁菌门为主（P＜0.05)。患儿肠道双歧杆菌属数量低于健康对照组,而毛螺菌属,瘤胃菌属,红蝽菌属和普雷沃菌属有所增多（均P＜0.05)。治疗8周后,治疗组患儿临床症状评分明显降低,治疗的总有效率高于对照组（P<0.05）。治疗组患儿血清IL-4、IgE水平明显降低,IL-12水平明显升高,且治疗组患儿以上指标的改善程度均优于对照组（均P<0.05）。结论 过敏性鼻炎患儿与健康儿童相比肠道菌群存在差异,肠道菌群失衡可能是促进过敏性鼻炎发生发展的一个因素。双歧杆菌三联活菌散对过敏性鼻炎有辅助治疗的作用,能显著改善患儿临床症状,调节机体的免疫能力,具有一定临床应用价值。     

Role of histamine and platelet-activating factor in allergic rhinitis

This review is focused on the effects of histamine and platelet-activating factor (PAF) in allergic rhinitis and the plausible implications for therapy. Rhinitis is defined as a heterogeneous disorder resulting from an IgE-mediated reaction associated with nasal inflammation of variable intensity. Two phases of response are triggered by an IgE/allergen cross-linking event: the first is the release of preformed mediators such as histamine or interleukins from mast cells and basophils; the second begins when cells start producing lipid-derived mediators. One of these mediators is PAF. Apart from leukotrienes, PAF is perhaps the most potent inflammatory mediator in allergic rhinitis for inducing vascular leakage, a response that may contribute to the appearance of rhinorrhea and nasal congestion.