Early introduction of allergenic foods for the prevention of food allergy from an Asian perspective—An Asia Pacific Association of Pediatric Allergy,Respirology & Immunology (APAPARI) consensus statement

Emerging evidence for the early introduction of allergenic foods for the prevention of food allergies, such as peanut allergy in Western populations, has led to the recent publication of guidelines in the USA and Europe recommending early peanut introduction for high‐risk infants with severe eczema or egg allergy. Peanut allergy is, however, much less prevalent in Asia compared to the West. Varying patterns of food allergy are seen even within Asian countries—such as a predominance of wheat allergy in Japan and Thailand and shellfish allergy in Singapore and the Philippines. Customs and traditions, such as diet and infant feeding practices, also differ between Asian populations. Hence, there are unique challenges in adapting guidelines on early allergenic food introduction to the Asian setting. In this paper, we review the evidence and discuss the possible approaches to guide the timely introduction of allergenic food in high‐risk infants in Asia.     

Targeting the Splicing of mRNA in Autoimmune Diseases: BAFF Inhibition in Sjögren's Syndrome as a Proof of Concept

BAFF (B-cell–activating factor of the tumor necrosis factor family), a pivotal cytokine for B-cell activation, is overexpressed by salivary gland (SG) epithelial cells in primary Sjogren''s syndrome (pSS). ΔBAFF, a physiological inhibitor of BAFF, is a minor alternative splice variant of BAFF. A U7 RNA was reengineered to deliver antisense sequences targeting BAFF splice regions. A major decrease of BAFF messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein secretion, concomitantly with the increase of ΔBAFF mRNA, was observed in vitro. In vivo, SG retrograd instillation of nonobese diabetic mice by the modified U7 cloned into an adeno-associated virus vector significantly decreased BAFF protein expression and lymphocytic infiltrates and improved salivary flow. This study offers a rationale for localized therapeutic BAFF inhibition in pSS and represents a proof of concept of the interest of exon skipping in autoimmune diseases.     

Incidence and predictors of depression after stroke (DAS)

Objective. Depression after stroke (DAS) poses a treble burden to patients, families and health care system. The purpose of this paper is to estimate the incidence of depression among first-ever ischemic stroke patients and identify the predictors of DAS. Methods. A longitudinal study design was undertaken. Of 836 patients admitted to the stroke unit of two regional hospitals in Hong Kong during the period 1 June 2004 to 31 May 2005, 295 patients fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria. A total of 260 patients had given their consents and were interviewed at 1 month after stroke onset. Results. Nearly one-quarter of the first ischemic stroke patients, who were known to be free of personal and family history of psychiatric illnesses, were found to satisfy the criteria of depression using Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV (24%, 48 out of 200 participants; 95% CI: 18.6%, 30.4%). This result was close to that assessed by the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) – 15 items. The psycho-emotional factor and level of dependency were found to be most significant predictors for DAS onset. Conclusion. The high incidence of DAS and low rate of accessibility to treatment indicate timely action to be undertaken.     

How Picky Eating Becomes an Illness—Marketing Nutrient-Enriched Formula Milk in a Chinese Society

The essential adaptive food selection behavior of young children has become increasingly medicalized as a kind of disease—the “picky-eating” syndrome in Hong Kong. The researcher used the multiple case studies approach with data collected from in-depth interviews and advertisements to examine the process of the medicalization of picky-eating disorder, which demonstrates how an essential adaptive human behavior can be redefined by the market and medical system as a deviant, abnormal behavior that needs to be eliminated and how the resulting health risks can be resolved by modern medicine produced by this pharmaceutical nexus.     

Brief report: Decreased expression of CD244 (SLAMF4) on monocytes and platelets in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

Clinical Rheumatology - The signalling lymphocyte activation molecule (SLAM) family receptors play important roles in modulating immune responses. Previous studies in murine models and patients...     

Erratum: Rhinitis in children less than 6 years of age: current knowledge and challenges

[This corrects the article on p. 115 in vol. 1, PMID: 22053307.].