Herpes Zoster Vaccination and Dementia Occurrence

Pomirchy M, Bommer C, Pradella F, Michalik F, Peters R, Geldsetzer P. JAMA. 2025 Apr 23:e255013. doi: 10.1001/jama.2025.5013.

Key Points

Question  What is the effect of herpes zoster vaccination on the probability of receiving a new diagnosis of dementia?

Findings  In this quasi-experimental study using electronic health record data from Australia, being eligible for herpes zoster vaccination based solely on date of birth significantly decreased the probability of receiving a new dementia diagnosis during 7.4 years by 1.8 percentage points.

Meaning  By taking advantage of a quasi-experiment, this study provides evidence for a beneficial effect of herpes zoster vaccination for preventing or delaying dementia that is more likely to be causal than the associations reported in the existing correlational evidence.

Abstract

Importance  Recent evidence from a quasi-experiment in Wales showed that herpes zoster (HZ) vaccination appears to prevent or delay dementia.

Urticaria and other mimickers of urticaria

Rojo-Gutierrez MI, Moncayo-Coello CV, Macias Weinmann A, Gomez RM, Ensina LF, Cherrez-Ojeda I, Piraino Sosa P, Latour Staffeid P, Valentin Rostan M.  Front Allergy. 2025 Feb 13;5:1522749. doi: 10.3389/falgy.2024.1522749. 

Abstract

Urticaria is a mast cell-dependent skin disease characterized by the presence of hives, angioedema, or both in the absence of systemic symptoms. It may be acute, or chronic. (1) Acute urticaria (AU) is common in children, affecting boys and girls equally. Chronic urticaria (CU) affects adult women more (3). AU affects more than 20% of the population and CU 0.1 and 1.5%. There are many pathologies that do not meet the clinical criteria for urticaria, despite being called urticarias, which leads to erroneous diagnoses and inconclusive epidemiology.

Prenatal exposure to mixtures of phthalates and bisphenol A and eczema risk: findings in atopic and non-atopic children from the LiNA birth cohort

Sergio Gómez-Olarte, Stefan Röder, Ulrike Rolle-Kampczyk, Ulrich Sack, Martin von Bergen, Michael Borte, Ana C. Zenclussen, Gunda Herberth, Environmental Research, 2025, 121667. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2025.121667.

Abstract

Background

We investigated whether maternal exposure to phthalate and bisphenol A (BPA) mixtures is associated with eczema in children, as most studies have only addressed single chemical exposures.

Graphical Abstract

Methods

Nine phthalate metabolites and BPA were quantified in urine at gestational weeks 34-36 (n = 540) and total, inhalant, and food allergen-specific immunoglobulin (Ig)E levels (sx1, and fx5) were measured in serum from 4-year-old children of the LiNA cohort (n = 219). The association of prenatal exposure to phthalates and BPA, both single and mixed, with eczema and IgE was assessed in children stratified by atopy status.

The combination of allergen immunotherapy and biologics for inhalant allergies: Exploring the synergy

Olivieri B, Günaydın FE, Corren J, Senna G, Durham SR. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2025 Apr;134(4):385-395. doi: 10.1016/j.anai.2024.06.016. 

Abstract

Interplay between AIT and biologics in modulating allergic inflammation. 

The development of monoclonal antibodies that selectively target IgE and type 2 immunity has opened new possibilities in the treatment of allergies. Although they have been used mainly as single therapies found to have efficacy in the management of asthma and other T2-mediated diseases, there is a growing interest in using these monoclonal antibodies in combination with allergen immunotherapy (AIT). AIT has transformed the treatment of allergic diseases by aiming to modify the underlying immune response to allergens rather than just providing temporary symptom relief. 

Differences in Molecular Sensitization Profiles Between Spanish and Latin American Mite-Allergic Patients

Calzada D, Bartra J, Serrano CD, Riggioni S, Moran E, Maselli JP, Silva DL, Ramirez LF, Pascal M, Carnés J, Valero A.  J Investig Allergol Clin Immunol. 2025 Apr 22;35(2):114-121. doi: 10.18176/jiaci.0968.

Objective: To analyze sensitization to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and to investigate the association between diagnostic findings and clinical severity in 218 allergic patients from 2 continents.

Methods: Mite-allergic patients were recruited by allergology departments in Latin America (n=88: Colombia, Costa Rica, and Guatemala) and Spain (n=130). All patients had allergic rhinitis with or without asthma and positive skin prick test results to D pteronyssinus. Specific IgE levels to D pteronyssinus, Dermatophagoides farinae, Der p 1, Der p 2, and Der p 23 were quantified using ImmunoCAP (Thermo Fisher Scientific). The allergenic profile was also determined by Western blotting. A comparative statistical analysis was performed using GraphPad software.

Results: Patients most frequently recognized Der p 2 (79%), followed by Der p 1 (73%) and Der p 23 (69%). The percentage of patients with asthma increased with the number of sensitizations; however, no statistically significant differences were found.

Gastrointestinal colonization as a source of Staphylococcus aureus in atopic dermatitis

Theodora K Karagounis, Gregory Putzel, Magdalena Podkowik et al.
bioRxiv 2025.04.17.648849; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.04.17.648849

Abstract

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a prevalent inflammatory skin disease with complex pathogenesis. Both skin and gut microbiota influence AD, with Staphylococcus aureus, in particular, exacerbating the disease. However, the relationship between S. aureus colonization in the gut and skin, and whether it affects AD, remains unclear.

Assessing Nasal Nitric Oxide in Allergic Rhinitis: A Controversial Biomarker

Louca N, Damianou D, Kostea N, Kouis P, Yiallouros P, Pitsios C. Medicina. 2025; 61(3):516. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina61030516

Abstract

Background and objectives: Increased levels of nitric oxide (NO) are produced in various inflammatory diseases like allergic asthma. Fractional exhaled NO has been studied as a biomarker of type 2 inflammation in asthma, while the use of nasal NO (nNO) as a diagnostic tool for allergic rhinitis (AR) is less established. In the present study, we investigated nNO as a potential biomarker for differentiating AR from nonallergic rhinitis (NAR). Materials and methods: Medical students were invited to complete a questionnaire on rhinitis symptoms.

Decoding the causal association between immune cells and three chronic respiratory diseases: Insights from a bi-directional Mendelian randomization study

Xie, A., He, Z., Song, C. et al. BMC Pulm Med 25, 183 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12890-025-03641-w

Abstract

Background

Numerous studies have indicated the correlations of immune traits and chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs). Whereas, causality is still implicative. Hence, our study was designed to investigate the causal relations utilizing bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) and to identify the immune traits of potential significance.

Methods

Using GWAS datasets, we performed Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses to examine 731 immune traits associated with three CRDs: asthma, bronchiectasis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Six widely applied MR approaches, along with Bayesian weighted Mendelian randomization analysis, were utilized to assess causality. Through extensive sensitivity assessments, heterogeneity and pleiotropy have been examined. For integrity, leave-one-out analysis was implemented as the final step.

Results

Graphical Abstract

Our study reveals 13 immune traits that may have a genetic basis for predicting the occurrence of CRDs