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FDA: Antihistamine linked to breathing problems, death
The Food and Drug Administration recently announced that medications containing promethazine hydrochloride (HCl), brand name Phenergan, should not be used for children younger than two years old because of possible breathing problems. Cases of breathing problems, some causing death, have been reported to the FDA, when the drug was used in children younger than two years old. The drug’s forms include syrups, suppositories, tablets, or injectables. Parents and caregivers should also be careful and get a doctor’s advice about giving promethazine HCl in any form to children age two and older. 

Preschoolers in day care at higher risk for allergy symptoms
Preschool children who attend day care are at higher risk for respiratory and allergic disease, says a study in Allergy. Researchers at SP Swedish National Testing and Research Institute looked at parent questionnaires from more than 10,800 1- to 6-year-old children, comparing current day care attendance and age when starting day care in relation to respiratory and allergic disease. Researchers gathered information about respiratory and atopic symptoms, the home environment and day care. The children in day care had more symptoms than the children at home, with the following adjusted odds ratios: 1.33 for wheezing, 1.56 for cough at night, 1.23 for doctor-diagnosed asthma, 1.15 for rhinitis, 1.75 for doctor-diagnosed hay fever, 1.49 for eczema, and 1.27 for allergic reaction to food. The increased risks were observed most and peaked in the group of children between 1 and 4 years old. 

High-sensitivity C-reactive protein may be asthma marker
Elevated serum levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) could indicate airflow obstruction and airway inflammation, providing a surrogate marker of airway inflammation in asthma, according to a study in European Respiratory Journal. Scientists at Kyoto University in Japan examined serum hsCRP levels in 22 steroid-naive asthmatic subjects, 23 asthmatic subjects on steroid inhalers, and 14 healthy controls. They excluded subjects with diabetes mellitus, heart disease, obesity, and smoking, which could affect hsCRP levels. Serum levels of hsCRP were significantly increased in steroid-naive asthmatics compared with healthy controls, but not in asthmatic subjects on steroid inhalers, possibly because of the steroids’ anti-inflammatory effect.  

FTC official: U.S. drug agreements keep generics off market
U.S. antitrust authorities are accusing pharmaceutical companies of increasingly striking deals with generic competitors to restrict the introduction of generic drugs. In a recent speech, a Federal Trade Commission official pointed to pharmaceutical companies using controversial settlements that include payments to generic drug makers, which promise to restrict selling competing generic drugs. The FTC recently has filed lawsuits challenging patent settlement agreements between pharmaceutical companies and their generic competitors.The FTC has been closely monitoring drug patent settlements since 2004, when Congress passed a law requiring the pharmaceutical companies to give the FTC advance notice. In fiscal 2005, three of 16 drug patent settlements included such drug patent settlements. According to the FTC spokesman, it was the first time since 1999 that drug companies entered in such agreements.  

Conflicts of interest don’t prevent FDA drug advisory member voting
Recusal of FDA drug advisory committee members from voting is rare, despite conflict of interest disclosures, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. During the study, if all members with conflicts had been excused from voting, the overall vote outcomes would have remained the same, according to the report. Researchers from Public Citizen's Health Research Group in Washington, D.C., analyzed agendas and transcripts from 221 drug advisory committee meetings held from 2001 to 2004. The meetings included 1,957 committee members and 990 voting consultants. Of the meetings studied, 73 percent involved one or more advisory committee members or voting consultants who disclosed a conflict of interest, while only 1 percent of advisory committee members were recused. 

Board of Regents approves 2006-2007 nominating slate
ACAAI Vice President Dr. Jay M. Portnoy, Kansas City, Mo., was nominated as president-elect of the College for 2006-2007 by the Board of Regents at its May 5-6 meeting in Washington, D.C.

Upon recommendation of the Nominating Committee, the Board also slated the following nominees:
• Vice President: Dr. Richard G. Gower, Spokane, Wash.
• Treasurer: Dr. Stanley M. Fineman, Marietta, Ga.
• Regents (three-year terms): Drs. Luz S. Fonacier, Mineola, N.Y.; Rickard A. Nicklas, Washington, D.C.; and James L. Sublett, Louisville, Ky.

The annual election of officers and regents will be held at the Annual Business Meeting, Nov. 14, when Dr. Daniel Ein, Washington, D.C., assumes the presidency.

Screening program marks 10th year at Asthma Awareness Day on Capitol Hill
The Nationwide Asthma Screening Program kicked off its 10th anniversary celebration on May 3 at Asthma Awareness Day Capitol Hill, an annual event sponsored by the Allergy and Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics (AANMA).

The event included special asthma screenings for members of Congress, their staffs and family members and a legislative briefing. ACAAI President Dr. William K. Dolen presented information on the nationwide program at the briefing and a press conference AANMA conducted for the event.

“It all began with one screening in one city,” said Dr. Dolen. “Now, it’s now one of the largest public service campaigns in respiratory care. Allergists offer 300 free screening programs each year at locations throughout the country. The program has screened more than 90,000 persons and referred half for a professional diagnosis.

“In a recent survey of coordinators of local screenings, two out of three reported that the majority of screening program participants would not have sought treatment for their breathing problem without the screening. A typical participant experienced breathing problems for a year or more before attending a screening,” he said.

AANMA and the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) have been a part of the Nationwide Asthma Screening Program effort since its launch. The screening program has been supported during the entire decade by AstraZeneca. This year, the program expects to screen the 100,000th participant.

“We’re pleased with what we have accomplished in our first decade, and even more excited about the prospect for helping more people as the program continues. After all, allergists are the physicians who take care of patients with asthma and the other allergic diseases,” Dr. Dolen said.

Abstract submission deadline May 15
for the ACAAI-HSACI meeting
The deadline for online abstract submission is May 15 for the Joint Allergy Symposium of the ACAAI and Hellenic Society of Allergy & Clinical Immunology (HSACI), Sept. 6-9, 2006.

This international meeting, Allergy Update in Greece, brings together many of the finest researchers and clinicians to present cutting-edge lectures on the most important topics for the clinical practice of allergy and immunology.

Oral presentations will include “Adverse Reactions to Foods” and “Allergy and Autoimmunity.” Poster presentations will include these and other topics. The presenting author should be registered for the Congress.

Tours feature sightseeing in Athens, including the Acropolis and the Parthenon, Panathinaiko Stadium, and much more; Cape Sounion to see the Temple of Poseidon; Delphi, the “Center of the Ancient World,” visiting the Temple of Apollo and the Museum; Argolis crowned by the mighty ramparts of the Palamidi Fortress and Nafplion; and a one-day cruise of the Saronic Gulf to visit the Greek islands Aegina, Poros and Hydra.

Plan to join your colleagues in Athens, one of the most exciting cities in the world, the metropolis of wisdom, philosophy and inspiration. The modern Athens Ledra Marriott Hotel is the perfect venue for this meeting, with its spacious conference center and view of the Acropolis.

Put your practice online with a Medem Web site
As an ACAAI member, you can create a Medem practice Web site – with tools that can help you increase your practice revenue, improve patient satisfaction, reduce your liability and improve your practice marketing – at a 33-percent reduced rate as a membership benefit.

Plus, if you have 300 of your patients sign up for an iHealthRecord via your practice Web site in 2006 or perform at least one charged-for Online Consultation on average per week during the 2006 calendar year, your 2006 fees will be credited to your 2007 subscription.

By using Medem, Inc.’s iHealth Services, you can create a practice Web site, have your patients complete a secure online personal health record—the iHealthRecord —communicate with them through Online Consultation and Secure Messaging tools and provide your patients with health education and adherence programs, including asthma and other allergic diseases. If you have any questions, contact Medem’s Member Services at info@medem.com or 1-877-926-3336.

Past presidents in the spotlight
ACAAI Immediate Past President Dr. Myron J. Zitt delivered the ACAAI-sponsored 12th Annual Robert T. Scanlon, M.D., Memorial Lecture, “Asthma: Unmet Needs and Evolving Solutions,” at Georgetown University Medical Center on May 5, 2006.

ACAAI Past President Dr. Joseph A. Bellanti will receive an Honorary Degree, Doctor of Science, at the forthcoming Georgetown University School of Medicine Commencement on May 21, 2006, in the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, Constitution Hall. He is professor of pediatrics and microbiology-immunology and director of the International Center for Interdisciplinary Studies of Immunology at the Medical Center, and has been with Georgetown for almost 45 years.

Have you written a new book? Have you won a prestigious award? Are you doing something that ACAAI members would really find interesting? Submit notable achievements and read about those of your peers in ACAAI eNews. Please e-mail member news notices to joannfaber@acaai.org.

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 68 of the 6th edition of Middleton’s Allergy Principles and Practice, edited by N. Franklin Adkinson, et al. Review questions were written by Prepared by Karla R. Davis, Walter Reed Medical Center, and J. Michael Norvell, Vanderbilt University.