clair088

Psoriasis and atopic dermatitis (AD) are the most common inflammatory skin conditions that share similarities, including epidermal hyperplasia, marked T-cell and dendritic cell infiltration, and a relatively increased Th1 axis. However, T cell polarization differs and therapeutic targeting has confirmed that TNF-α, IL-17, and IL-23 are the main cytokine drivers of psoriasis while AD has been recently characterized as Th2/Th22 polarized, with some Th17 involvement. Noda et al detail the different therapeutic approaches that have been approved or being tested for these diseases ( J Allergy Clin Immunol 2015; 135: 324-336 ). Up to 3% of adults have psoriasis, which is associated with red scaly lesions, a shorter life span, and a high risk for cardiovascular diseases, obesity, and diabetes. Up to 20% of these patients have severe disease which requires systemic therapies. Conventional treatments for psoriasis such as phototherapy, methotrexate, cyclosporine, and aceitretin are associated ...

Asthma has traditionally been defined using non-specific clinical and physiologic variables which encompass multiple different phenotypes and is treated with non-specific anti-inflammatory therapies. However, it is increasingly recognized that human asthma is a heterogeneous disease. In their review, Fajt and Wenzel analyzed randomized double blind placebo controlled trials of molecularly targeted therapies in defined allergic disease and asthma phenotypes ( J Allergy Clin Immunol 2015; 135: 299-310 ). There is an increasing appreciation of heterogeneity within asthma and allergic diseases, based primarily on recent cluster analyses, molecular phenotyping, biomarkers and differential responses to targeted and non-targeted therapies. These pioneering studies have led to successful therapeutic trials of molecularly targeted therapies in defined phenotypes. Pathobiologic studies combined with therapeutic trials of type-2 targeted therapies either approved or in clinical trials include tho...

Food allergy is an immune-mediated response to food proteins leading to symptoms affecting the skin, gastrointestinal tract or respiratory tract. Up to 8% if children and 5% if adults self-reported an allergy to at least one food. The incidence of food allergy has steadily increased over 18% between 1997-2007, suggesting that environmental influences may play a role. Despite this increase in prevalence, there are currently no approved treatments beyond allergen avoidance and treatment of reactions to accidental ingestion. Though the incidence of food allergy-related mortality is low, avoidance and fear of accidental ingestion significantly impairs the quality of life for children with food allergy and their caregivers. In their review, Bauer et al discuss the mechanisms that contribute to allergy with emphasis on future targets for biologics for the treatment of IgE mediated food allergy ( J Allergy Clin Immunol 2015; 135(2): 312-323 ). Recently there has been increased interest in th...