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Mar.
14, 2007 |
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Welcome to ACAAI eNews — a bi-weekly
aggregated
news service
from the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. To be
removed from this distribution list, please see instructions at
bottom. |
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Top
Stories |
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Distance Learning |
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Drugs and Devices |
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Association
News |
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Fellows-in-Training |
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Periodicals |
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Calendar |
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Archive |
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FIT Archive |
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How
many of your asthma patients have made the
transition to HFA MDIs?
Have your patients commented about the difference
between CFC and HFA albuterol?
Did you use the transition as an opportunity to
reassess your patients' treatment program? |
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Distance Learning |
ACAAI
Podcast/Vodcast Library
Link
2006 ACAAI Annual Meeting CD-ROM
Plenary Sessions
Literature Review
International Food Allergy Symposium
Link
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Periodicals |
•
Annals of
Allergy, Asthma and Immunology
Current issue
• AllergyWatch
Current issue
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Calendar |
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APRIL
2007 World Immune Regulation Meeting
April 11-15, 2007
Davos, Switzerland
Email
Link
Allergy and Clinical Immunology (65th Annual Course)
University of Minnesota
April 20, Minneapolis, Minn.
Tel: 612-626-7600 or 800-776-8636
E-mail
Link
International Conference on Asthma
Impacts of Air Pollution
South Coast Air Quality Management District
April 26-27, Anaheim, CA
Tel: 909-396-2432
Link
JUNE
2007 Annual Meeting of the Florida Allergy, Asthma &
Immunology Society
June 8-10, Sarasota, Fla.
Tel: 904-765-7702
Email
Link
2nd World Congress on Work-Related and Environmental Allergy
/ 6th International Symposium on Irritant Contact Dermatitis
June 13-16, Weimar, Germany
Tel: 49-0-3641-35-330
Email
Link
Asthma & Allergy Society of Virginia Annual Meeting
June 15-17, Winchester, VA
Tel: 757-481-4383
E-mail
The Pennsylvania Allergy and Asthma Association Annual
Scientific Meeting
June 22-24, Hershey, PA
Tel: 888-633-5784
Link
JULY
2007 International Congress on Respiratory Viruses
The Macrae Group
July 20-22, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Tel: 212-988-7732
E-mail
Link
25th Annual Aspen Allergy Conference
July 24-28, Aspen, CO
Conference Coordinator: Jill Hibbeln
Tel: 720-384-5917
E-mail
Link
ONGOING
World Allergy Organization Society Meetings
ACAAI CME Website
Contact: Mary Campbell
Tel: 847-427-1200
E-mail
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Sponsored
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Top
Stories |
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Mom’s pregnancy diet tied to
baby’s allergic disease risk
What a mother eats while pregnant may affect her child’s
risk of allergic disease, according to a study in American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Scientists at GSF-Institute of
Epidemiology, Neuherberg, Germany, analyzed data from 2,641
children, examining associations between maternal diet during
the last four weeks of pregnancy and offspring allergic disease
and eczema at two years. High maternal intake of margarine and
vegetable oils during the period were linked to eczema during
the first two years. High fish intake seemed to offer protection
against eczema.
Flu vaccine rates still low
among kids with asthma
Influenza vaccination coverage remains low among children
with asthma, although their coverage is three times higher than
among their peers without asthma, according to a study in
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Researchers at the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed National
Health Interview Survey data for 5,124 children from 2 to 17
years old during the 2004–2005 influenza season. The coverage
rate among children with asthma was 29 percent, compared with
10.3 percent among children without asthma.
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 A
message from ACAAI Past
President Dr. Ira Finegold
Even though the final date set by the FDA after which
albuterol CFC can no longer be sold is Dec. 31,
2008, the transition is here and now, well at hand.
As most of you know, this transition is mediated by
an international agreement, the Montreal Protocol.
The initial agreement in 1987 was a response to the
information that the hole in the ozone layer of the
stratosphere was increasing. The ozone layer acts as
a protective barrier between the earth’s surface and
the sun. Ozone depletion has been linked to
increased levels of harmful UV radiation reaching
the earth’s surface. This, in turn, leads to health
risks, such as melanoma, which would increase
because of this ozone disappearance.
The depletion of ozone has been attributed to
manmade chemicals, especially chlorofluorocarbons
(CFCs). The CFC propellants rise to the stratosphere
where they break down liberating chlorine, which
acts as a catalyst converting ozone to oxygen. So
the propellant needed to be changed in metered dose
inhalers (MDIs). Ultimately, after considerable
expense and trials, hydrofluroalkanes (HFAs) were
developed. In the development of these products, it
turned out that just introducing HFA propellants
into the CFC devices led to malfunction. An all-new
delivery system needed to be designed, and these
second-generation inhalers actually deliver better
products. Some of these are in solution, while
others remain in suspension. HFA is not as cold as
CFC as it enters the respiratory tract, and the
propellant emerges at a lower velocity than CFC
propellants.
Since 1995, I have been the ACAAI representative to
the U.S. Stakeholders’ Group on MDI Transition, a
coalition of medical professional societies and
patient organizations interested in this transition.
The group was always concerned about transition to
these new aerosols, as well as ensuring an adequate
supply so that all patients would be served. So far,
HFA products include HFA albuterol, HFA Ipratropium,
HFA levalbuterol, HFA beclomethasone, and HFA
fluticasone alone and with salmeterol. In addition,
other HFA products will be available in the near
future, such as HFA budesonide with formeterol, and
HFA ciclesonide.
In October 2006, the EPA recommended that CFCs no
longer be allocated for use in albuterol MDIs. This
was done to ensure that all patients transition in
advance of the deadline, and to ensure that the HFA
albuterol supply is adequate before CFC albuterol
can no longer be sold. (CFCs will still be available
for some products such as Combivent, which is
anticipated to have an HFA product in 2010 or 2011.)
This means that the transition is here and now. By
the end of this year, there should be no CFC
albuterol being sold. Supplies are adequate and
there are various promotions by the manufacturers
available for patients who may have hardships with
the increased costs or co-pays. At this time, there
are no generic HFA albuterols being sold. Note that
this transition only applies to CFC-Albuterol at
this time.
As physicians use this transition period to inform
patients about this change, they also can take it as
an opportunity to re-evaluate asthma control and
medication usage.
Please take a moment to answer the
three poll
questions and also share your concerns about the CFC albuterol transition by using the poll’s comment
feature. |
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Drugs
and Devices |
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Accentia Biopharmaceuticals
acquires license to Revimmune
Accentia Biopharmaceuticals Inc. recently acquired rights
for Revimmune, a patent-pending pharmaceutical treatment in
late-stage development for a variety of autoimmune diseases.
Revimmune uses an ultra-high intensity, short-course of an
intravenous formulation of cyclophosphamide.
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Association
News |
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Register
online for the Board Review Course, April 19-22
Online registration is fast and easy for the ACAAI/AAAAI
Certification/Maintenance of Certification Board Review
Course, April 19-22, 2007, at the Renaissance Hotel in
Chicago. Online registration closes on Wednesday, April 11,
at 11:59 p.m.
Whether you are preparing for the ABAI exam, working toward
recertification or simply reviewing and strengthening your
skills, this intensive Board Review Course will give you the
winning edge.
The Board Review Course is developed and presented by a
conjoint committee appointed by ACAAI and AAAAI. As ABAI is
the certifying organization for the specialty — and separate
from these educational organizations — ABAI directors
responsible for preparing the 2007 ABAI examinations are not
involved with the course presentations. Content outlines for
the examination are available on the
ABAI Web site.
The Conjoint Planning Committee includes Drs. Emil J. Bardana, Jr. (Co-Chair),
Dennis Ledford (Co-Chair), Thomas
A. Fleisher, David A. Khan, Phillip Lieberman, Kathleen R.
May, Dennis R. Ownby and William T. Shearer.
The Board Review Course is sponsored by IVAX Laboratories,
Inc., a member of TevaGroup.
Annual Meeting programs available on CD-ROM
All Plenary Sessions, the Literature Review Course and the
International Food Allergy Symposium from the 2006 ACAAI
Scientific Meeting are now available on CD-ROM.
The CD-ROMs may be purchased individually or as a set of
three containing more than 20 hours of scientific
presentations. PC- and Macintosh-compatible, the CDs include
all slides and the original presenters’ audio narration.
The Annual Meeting CD-ROMs may be purchased through Blue Sky
Broadcast by completing the Order Form available on the
College Web site,
or by calling (877) 925-8375 from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Pacific
time.
 You decide when and where to view
vodcasts of the Food
Allergy Symposium
Every second week, the College posts a new 30-minute vodcast
of a key scientific presentation. Each vodcast contains the
original audio and presentation slides and can be viewed
from a computer or downloaded to a portable media player
(such as an iPod). Previous vodcasts are archived for
continued viewing.
This month’s
vodcasts from the 2006 Food Allergy Symposium feature:
• “Cross-Reactivity of Foods” – Amal H. Assa’ad, M.D.,
Cincinnati, Ohio (Archived: Feb. 28 – March 13)
• “How Hypoallergenic are ‘Hypoallergenic’ Formulas – Sami
L. Bahna, M.D., Dr.Ph. Shreveport, La. (New: March 14-27)
• “Luisa Businco Memorial Lecture: Infant Weaning and Food
Allergy – Alessandro Fiocchi, M.D., Milan, Italy (Coming:
March 28 – April 10).
The ACAAI vodcast program is sponsored by an unrestricted
educational grant from GlaxoSmithKline. |
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Fellows-in-Training |
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Board Review Corner
Welcome to the Board
Review Corner prepared by Dr. Soo Kim-Delio, 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 “FIT
Archive” link in the left column.
Review Questions: Chapter 89 of the 6th edition of
Middleton’s Allergy Principles and Practice, edited by N.
Franklin Adkinson, et al. Review questions were written by Drs.
Bret Haymore and Soo Kim-Delio from Walter Reed Army Medical
Center.
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Copyright
© 2007 American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. All
rights reserved.
E-newsletter services provided by the medical editors at Ascend
Media, LLC.
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