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August
2, 2006 |
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Welcome to ACAAI eNews — a bi-weekly aggregated news service
from the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. To be
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Distance Learning |
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Association
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Fellows-in-Training |
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Calendar |
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Archive |
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FIT Archive |
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Distance Learning |
2005 Board/Recertification Review Course:
DVDs, Audio CDs, MP3s
Link
ACAAI Tape Store
Complete Listing
Link
2005 ACAAI ANNUAL MEETING
• Symposia Online
Nov. 4-9, Anaheim
Link
2004 ACAAI ANNUAL MEETING
• Symposia Online
Nov. 12-17, Boston
Link
2003 ACAAI ANNUAL MEETING
Nov. 7-12, 2003, New Orleans
• Two Symposia Online
Link
• Plenary Sessions CD-ROM and DVD
Link
Patient-Centered Allergy Practice
Endorsed by ACAAI, Sponsored by Physicians Practice
Link
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Calendar |
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AUGUST
Association of Asthma Educators Annual Conference:
Asthma and Our Nation's Health
August 4-6, Atlanta
Tel: 888-988-7747
E-mail
Link
AAE's National Asthma Educator Certification Review Course
Association of Asthma Educators
August 6-7, Atlanta
Tel: 888-988-7747
E-mail
Link
SEPTEMBER
ACAAI-HSACI Joint Allergy Symposium
Allergy Update in Greece
Sept. 6-9, Athens, Greece
Tel: 011 30 210 7499300, Ext. 354
E-mail
Link
Long Island Allergy and Asthma Society
13th Annual Scientific Conference
Sept. 8–10,
Montauk, N.Y.
Tel: 516-572-6177
Ohio Society of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology
Annual Meeting 2006
Sept. 28–Oct. 1, Farmington, PA
Tel: 614-891-0550
E-mail
OCTOBER
12th Biennial Allergy Abroad Program
Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
October 19-28
Switzerland & Germany
Tel: 314-362-6891
E-mail
Link
NOVEMBER
ACAAI XII International Food Allergy Symposium
Nov. 9, Philadelphia
ACAAI Annual Meeting
Nov. 9-15, Philadelphia
Tel: 847-427-1200
E-mail
Link
DECEMBER
International Congress on Exacerbations of Airway Disease
Dec. 8-10, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Tel: 212-988-7732
E-mail
Link
ONGOING
World Allergy Organization Society Meetings
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Top
Stories |
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Kids’ asthma control
in Arkansas comparable to inner city areas
Arkansas school children have high prevalence of asthma and
poor disease control comparable to inner city children,
according to a study in Annals of Allergy, Asthma and
Immunology. Scientists at the University of Arkansas in Little
Rock studied 5,417 children enrolled at the largest public
school district in the state. Of the total, 25 percent were at
risk for asthma. Of those, 55 percent were deemed active asthma
patients by diagnosis and asthma algorithm score. Just 14
percent of the active asthma patients were considered to have
good control of the disease, researchers reported. In addition,
81 percent of the children with active asthma said they missed
school frequently.
Study: Early asthma prevention for at-risk kids
unsuccessful
Researchers at the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research in
New South Wales, Australia, modified early exposure to house
dust mites and increased omega-3 fatty acid intake, but found
that such changes within the first few years of life do not
prevent asthma in children with family history of the disease.
Published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, the
study included 616 children who randomly received measures to
avoid house dust mite exposure, a diet with an increased omega-3
to -6 fatty acid ratio, both interventions, or neither during
their first 5 years. At age five, 516 subjects were evaluated
and given skin prick tests for atopy. While the dust mite
avoidance measure lowered bedding allergen levels by 61 percent,
it did not affect asthma or wheeze occurrence. Eczema was more
common among dust mite avoidance subjects (26 percent) than
among subjects who received no intervention (19 percent). The
dietary fatty acid modification increased subjects’ omega-3 to
-6 fatty acid ratio, but did not prevent asthma, eczema or atopy
onset.
Asthmatics decreasing prescription use early in pregnancy
A large number of women significantly reduce their asthma
medication use early in their pregnancies, putting themselves
and their babies at risk, according to a study in American
Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Scientists at Vanderbilt
University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tenn., studied data
from more than 8,000 pregnant women with asthma enrolled in the
Tennessee Medicaid program. They looked at whether the women
changed their asthma medication use during pregnancy. At 13
weeks, women with asthma had cut their inhaled corticosteroid
use by 23 percent, short-acting beta-agonist use by 13 percent,
and rescue corticosteroid use by 54 percent.
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 College
members mourn death of John Selner:
healer, teacher, mentor, leader, family man
Dr. John C. Selner, ACAAI past president (1992-93),
died on July 20 at age 70.
“Jack was one of the College’s greatest presidents,
providing tough but fair leadership in a challenging
era,” said ACAAI President Dr. William K. Dolen. “He
helped me and countless others get involved in College
activities, and will be a role model for all of us for
many years to come. He approached difficult situations
— and difficult people — with a disarming humility.
Working with him was a unique honor, for he taught
others about allergy, as well as life itself.”
Dr. Selner was elected by ACAAI Fellows in 2005 to
receive the prestigious Gold Headed Cane Award and was honored by the College as the Initial
Honoree of the Living Named Lectureship, The John C. Selner M.D. Lectureship 2000 and 2001; Distinguished
Fellow Award, 1994; and the Bela Schick Lectureship in
1987. He founded the Annual Meeting Workshops on
Rhinolaryngoscopy in 1984, and founded the Annual
Meeting FIT Bowl in 1992.
He practiced medicine in Denver from 1967 to 1996.
Prior to his retirement he was clinical professor at
the University of Colorado. He founded the Aspen
Allergy Conference in 1983, renamed in 2005 the John
C. Selner Aspen Allergy Conference in his honor.
“He was very concerned about the future of medicine
and encouraged physicians to take a proactive, rather
reactive role, in the future of heath care,” said Dr.
Jerald W. Koepke, Littleton, Co. “He expressed this in
editorials comments and by example, establishing an
Environmental Care Unit at Denver Presbyterian
Hospital in Denver where for years he tackled tough
environmental questions. Above all he wanted
allergists to be at the forefront in dealing with
allergy and allergy-related issues. He was a true
visionary, and his leadership and foresight will be
missed.
“He was a great mentor, colleague and friend to many,”
Dr. Koepke said. “He was unique in always questioning
and encouraging others to do the same and to continue
to seek answers regardless of the party line.
“He was always supportive of others, not interested in
personal gain.”
Dr. Selner was committed to teaching young people, as
well, and for eight years taught the Life Studies
program at St. Vincent’s DePaul parochial school,
teaching students about cultural diversities every
week on his days off.
He is survived by his wife, Joan; his children: Susan
(Terrence) Wright, Daniel (Carol), Mary Beth (Michael)
O'Hagan, Peter (Stacia) and Amy (Bo) Brustkern; 13
grandchildren; his brothers, David and Michael, and
sisters, Dorothy and Patricia.
Dr. Selner graduated from the University of Notre Dame
and the Stritch School of Medicine at Loyola
University in Chicago. He completed a residency in
pediatrics at the University of Oregon Hospital,
Portland, and fellowship training in
allergy-immunology at the University of Colorado
Health Science Center, Denver.
Donations may be made to Arrupe Jesuit High School,
John C.
Selner Scholarship Fund, 4343 Utica St., Denver, CO
80212.
Dr. Koepke provided a quote from Maya Angelou that
exemplified Jack’s life:
“A great soul serves everyone all the time.
A great soul never dies.
It brings us together again and again.”
Jack was certainly a great soul! |
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Drugs and Devices |
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FDA approves Symbicort, to
launch in mid-2007
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved
AstraZeneca Plc’s asthma drug Symbicort (budesonide+formoterol)
for patients 12 and older. Symbicort, a twice-daily therapy,
has been sold in Europe for more than five years. The drug
will be sold in two dose strengths in a pressurized metered
dose inhaler in the United States, the first country where it
will be available in this type of device. The company plans a
mid-2007 launch of the drug.
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Association
News |
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Online
registration for the ACAAI Annual Meeting is now open
 Online
registration for the ACAAI Annual Meeting in Philadelphia,
Nov. 9-15, is now up and running. You may access online
registration, online housing, printable housing forms and the
Preliminary Program from the College member Web site.
Attendees can register for housing by using the housing form
on the Web site and in the preliminary program. Do not call
individual hotels for housing reservations.
Don’t forget to order your tickets early for the Annual
Fundraising Dinner with Peter Nero and the Philly Pops concert
on Sunday evening, Nov. 12.
Look for your printed copy of the Preliminary Program to be
mailed soon.
Long-Term Research Fellowship offered by WAO
The World Allergy Organization (WAO) is offering a two-year
Long-Term Research Fellowship, commencing later this year. The
Fellowship supports a junior allergist following an approved
research program at a WAO-proposed host center. A list of
centers is included in the application. WAO will contribute a
monthly stipend and yearly travel expenses.
Priority will be given to junior clinicians within five years
of award of the most recent professional degree who are
specializing in allergy and who are affiliated with an
academic department or clinical institute. Applicants must be
active members of a WAO member society.
For more information and downloadable application forms,
click here.
Trainee Travel Award available for eosinophil-related
research
Applications are being accepted for the American Partnership
for Eosinophilic Disorders’ (APFED) Trainee Travel Award. Up
to $1,200 will be awarded toward travel, meeting registration,
and presentation-related fees for a physician who has been
approved to present eosinophil-related research at the 2006
ACAAI Annual Meeting.
Applications must be completed by Sept. 12. For more
information, visit the For Professionals Section of the
APFED Web site at
www.apfed.org.
American Latex Allergy Association provides
latex-alternative lists
The American Latex Allergy Association (ALAA) Online
Resource Manual provides a wealth of information for your
latex-allergic patients, including: consumer and medical
latex-alternative lists; the most common products that contain
natural rubber latex; information on food cross-reactivity;
latex-free products for home, medical, dental and school use;
and glove information.
The newly designed ALAA Web site is supported in part by the
College. |
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Fellows-in-Training |
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Immunology Review Corner
Welcome to the Board Review Corner, prepared by Dr. Karla R.
Davis, senior representative of ACAAI’s fellows-in-training (FITs)
to the Board of Regents. The Board Review Corner is your chance
to test your Board preparedness.
To refer to a previous Board Review Corner, click the “Archive”
link in the left column.
Immunology Review Corner: Chapter 74 of the 6th edition
of Middleton’s Allergy Principles and Practice, edited by
N. Franklin Adkinson, et al. Review questions were written by
Drs. Karla R. Davis, Walter Reed Medical Center; Anne K. Ellis,
McMaster University; and Soo Kim-Delio, Walter Reed Army Medical
Center.
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