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This project investigates how different populations of cells within the respiratory tract immune system are altered during a viral infection.
In this review, we provide an overview of food allergy genetics and epigenetics aimed at clinicians and researchers. This includes a brief review of the current understanding of genetic and epigenetic mechanisms, inheritance of food allergy, as well as a discussion of advantages and limitations of the different types of studies in genetic research.
The earliest respiratory function assessments, within or close to the neonatal period, consistently show correlations with lung function and with the development of asthma into adulthood. Measurements of lung function in infancy reflect the in utero period of lung development, and if early enough, show little influence of postnatal environmental exposures.
Mothers with asthma or atopy have a higher likelihood of having autistic children, with maternal immune activation in pregnancy implicated as a mechanism. This study aimed to determine, in a prospective cohort of mothers with asthma and their infants, whether inflammatory gene expression in pregnancy is associated with likelihood of future autism.
Impaired interferon response and allergic sensitization may contribute to virus-induced wheeze and asthma development in young children. Plasmacytoid dendritic cells play a key role in antiviral immunity as critical producers of type I interferons.
Studies examining associations of early-life cat and dog ownership with childhood asthma have reported inconsistent results. Several factors could explain these inconsistencies, including type of pet, timing, and degree of exposure. Our aim was to study associations of early-life cat and dog ownership with asthma in school-aged children, including the role of type (cat vs dog), timing (never, prenatal, or early childhood), and degree of ownership (number of pets owned), and the role of allergic sensitization.
Excessive production, secretion, and retention of abnormal mucus is a pathological feature of many obstructive airways diseases including asthma. Azithromycin is an antibiotic that also possesses immunomodulatory and mucoregulatory activities, which may contribute to the clinical effectiveness of azithromycin in asthma.
A collaboration between The Kids Research Institute Australia and Joondalup Health Campus is poised to be a game-changer for early childhood development.
An ambitious project that could stop children developing asthma is the centrepiece of a new world-class respiratory research centre launched in Perth.
Researchers developing a world-first treatment that targets an underlying cause of asthma have secured a $499,640 grant from the Future Health, Research and Innovation Fund – Innovation Seed Fund.