ISSN: 1323-8930Editor's Choices
Editor’s comment: Many factors have been reported to be related to infant wheezing, including viral infections and passive smoking. In this study, Fujino et al. examined the association between house renovation and new construction during pregnancy and wheezing in infants during the first year of life, using Japan Environment and Children's Study (JECS) data. They found that renovation but not new construction during pregnancy increased the prevalence of wheezing and recurrent wheezing in the first year of life.
Editor’s comment: In Japan, the rate of active smoking in 2015 was 30.1% in men and 7.9% in women. Wada et al. investigated the effect on one-year-olds of maternal exposure to tobacco smoke on wheeze/asthma development, using data from the nationwide birth cohort study in Japan. They found that current maternal smoking and maternal secondhand smoke exposure during pregnancy increased the risks of wheeze and asthma for offspring. They also found that if pregnant women have a history of allergy, the risks of wheezing/asthma in their offspring are further increased by current maternal smoking.
Editor’s comment: Anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction that is rapid in onset, can occur in response to almost any foreign substance. The Aichi Medical Association performed a comprehensive survey of pediatric anaphylaxis cases aged <15 years from 87 secondary and 25 tertiary emergency care hospitals in Aichi Prefecture (population 7.5 million) in Japan. They found that food items were the most frequent trigger, followed by exercise after food ingestion and then by drugs. Among food triggers, eggs and milk were the most frequent, but the most significant proportional increase was observed in tree nuts.
Review Series: Valuable Lessons from Analyses of Common Signs and Symptoms in Rare Diseases
Minegishi provides an excellent review regarding classic multisystem hyper-IgE syndrome-1 (HIES1; OMIM #147060), associated with STAT3, zinc finger protein 341 (ZNF341), interleukin 6 signal transducer (IL6ST), interleukin-6 receptor (IL6R), tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2), serine peptidase inhibitor Kazal type 5 (SPINK5), transforming growth factor beta receptor (TGFBR) 1/2, and caspase recruitment domain-containing protein 11 (CARD11).
Okamoto and Morio provide a comprehensive review of inborn errors of immunity (IEI) with eosinophilia, such as Omenn syndrome (T cell repertoire restriction), Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS), dedicator of cytokinesis 8 (DOCK8) deficiency, immune dysregulation, polyendocrinopathy, enteropathy, X-linked (IPEX) syndrome, T-bet deficiency, and others.
Yamanishi and Imai provide an intriguing review article centered on the roles of cell/tissue damage in intractable skin disorders, including atopic dermatitis. Alarmins and stressorins are molecules generated or released from damaged/stressed tissue and/or cells and trigger immune reactions through specific receptors. Those receptors contribute to the triggering, exacerbation, and perpetuation of local inflammation associated with skin barrier dysfunction. They also explain the roles of innate immunity (non-specific immune responses) in atopic dermatitis and other skin diseases.
Yamada, Ishikawa, and Imadome review a unique immune disorder called “hypersensitivity to mosquito bites (HMB)”. IgE- and IgG-mediated hypersensitivity to mosquito bites is called skeeter syndrome. Unlike patients with skeeter syndrome, those with HMB exhibit much more severe allergic reactions, including intense local skin signs and symptoms such as granuloma and ulcer formation, as well as systemic fever and liver damage. In those patients, Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) infects NK cells, and monoclonal expansion of those cells causes malignant lymphoma. The authors cover most of the recent topics in the field.
