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Non-allergic nasal inflammation common
Of adolescents and adults with rhinitis, about a quarter of the cases are not due to allergic disease, according to a study in Allergy. Researchers at Bispebjerg Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark, analyzed 5,849 questionnaires about respiratory health and medication usage from subjects between 14 and 44 years old. Among the subjects, 1,186 reported symptom history suggestive of asthma or allergic disease and were using medication for the conditions. These subjects were then interviewed about respiratory symptoms and tested for asthma and allergies, with 77 percent testing for allergic rhinitis. The 23 percent with non-allergic rhinitis were more likely to be female, have had persistent symptoms during the past four weeks and experience recurring headaches.  

Study: Breastfeeding lowers asthma risk, unless mom has asthma
Breast-feeding may have a protective effect from asthma later in life, but only if the mother does not have asthma, according to a study in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Arizona Respiratory Center studied data from the Tucson Children's Respiratory Study, which followed 1,246 healthy infants through adolescence. At age 11 to 16 as follow-up, 697 of the children had lung function tests to evaluate airflow and lung volume. In general, the breast-fed children of mothers without asthma had better lung volume and no decrease in air flow. Breast-feeding for more than four months helped improve lung function in this group. However, children of mothers with asthma who were breast-fed four months or more did not show any improvement, and instead had a significant reduction in airflow. 

Prebiotic supplements may help prevent eczema
Two separate reviews of 12 studies about the usefulness of prebiotic and probiotic supplements in infants at high risk for — but with no signs of — hypersensitivity or allergic disease suggest prebiotics added to infant formula may lower eczema risk, according to a report in The Cochrane Library. Scientists at Royal North Shore and Royal Prince Alfred Hospitals in Sidney, Australia, analyzed the outcomes of 1,549 infants supplemented for various periods during their first year of life. The prebiotic portion of the study included 442 infants treated for 6 months. The authors reported evidence that prebiotics may reduce the prevalence of clinical eczema, but added that the evidence was not sufficient enough to suggest routine prebiotic supplementation in high-risk infants. 

A message from ACAAI President Dr. Daniel Ein

It is really hard to imagine that this is my last eNews president’s column. The year has flown by and much has happened, almost all of it good. The College remains on sound financial footing. We have continued many programs and started new ones. We have confronted crises and worked to resolve them, often in collaboration with our sister organizations.

Some of the year’s highlights include lobbying for increased GME funding, initiation of a program to market allergists, awarding travel grants to our Annual Meeting for residents interested in allergy as a career, and initiation of “Hot Topics in Allergy” on XM Radio. Initiatives by the College and its members influenced the inclusion of the role of immunotherapy in the treatment of asthma in NHLBI/NAEPP guidelines.

We have sent speakers all over the world — to Russia, Brazil, China, and Hungary, for example — and have continued and deepened our involvement with the Emerging Societies Program in collaboration with the World Allergy Organization (WAO).

We worked closely on areas of mutual interest with the JCAAI and AAAAI and continued the practice of recent years of regular (at least monthly) telephone calls between the presidents of the two parent organizations.

We collaborated with AAAAI on the Xolair anaphylaxis issue, which led to specific recommendations for clinicians about waiting times after Xolair administration. We also continued our work on immunotherapy, under the leadership of Drs. Ira Finegold and Linda Cox, with a special emphasis on SLIT and on performance measures for the P4P program.

This is only a partial listing of what has happened in this rich and varied year of College activity.

I personally have learned a great deal and been intellectually stimulated. I have met many new friends and strengthened my bonds with old ones. I have been privileged to work with an extraordinary staff, which made this an easy job, and to have an Executive Committee of wise, dedicated colleagues whose judgment helped guide our College in the right direction. This year has truly been the highlight of my professional career. And I feel honored to have represented you. Thank you

Poster Sessions: A Clinical Connection
As an added feature of the 2007 ACAAI Annual Meeting in Dallas, Nov. 8-14, the College, with support by an educational grant from Merck, is pleased to introduce ClinicalConnect — an innovative approach to the scientific poster viewing experience.

Through ClinicalConnect, the College has created a portal for dynamic, two-way dialogue between presenter and viewer of 30 key abstracts selected by the ACAAI Abstract Review Committee.

During the poster sessions, participants will have the opportunity to use their personal cell phones to call a toll-free number to retrieve key talking points presented by the lead author about the scientific research on the poster. This technology will also allow the participant to be sent a copy of the abstract via text messaging or a PDF of the full poster via e-mail. If participants have interest in receiving further information regarding specific data, ClinicalConnect has the ability for recorded messages to be sent directly to the lead author who will, in turn, create an e-mail response.

We think that you will find this innovative technology a welcome addition to the Annual Meeting and hope that you will utilize its full range of functionality. Following the meeting you will be able to access these commentaries of the poster presentations on the College Web site.


Thanks to our partners
in research and education
The College recognizes its partners who have contributed generously to the 2007 ACAAI Fundraising Dinner and Wynonna Judd performance on Sunday, Nov. 11, at the Gaylord Texan Hotel in Dallas. Special thanks to the following donors:

Corporate Grants
Alcon Laboratories Inc.
ALTANA Pharma US Inc., a Nycomed Company
AstraZeneca LP
Sepracor Inc.
Teva Specialty Pharmaceuticals

Corporate Table Patrons
Alcon Laboratories Inc.
AstraZeneca LP
Genentech Inc. and Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
Lincoln Diagnostics
Merck & Co. Inc.
Sepracor Inc.
Teva Specialty Pharmaceuticals

Table Patrons
Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Associates of Nebraska
Allergy Partners P.A.
Atlanta Allergy & Asthma Clinic
Sami Bahna, M.D.
Children’s Mercy Hospital & Clinics/Drs. Kevin & Christine Kelly
Colorado Allergy & Asthma Centers PC
Dr. & Mrs. Daniel Ein
IRINE
Dr. & Mrs. Jay Portnoy

Tickets for the event may be purchased through Saturday, Nov. 10, at registration desk in the Longhorn Marble area of the Gaylord Texan.

Faculty donate honorarium to Tithe-a-Talk
Special thanks to the following physicians who have designated their ACAAI 2007 Annual Meeting faculty honorarium to the Foundation’s Tithe-a-Talk program benefiting the ACAAI Foundation:
 

The Tithe-a-Talk win-win program allows:

• Allergists to make a donation of time that turns into help for others without getting the honoraria reported as taxable income to them;

• Companies to demonstrate their good will with a charitable contribution or matching gift to the Foundation of the ACAAI in partnership with College members

Simply complete the form available on the College Web site and present it to the association/company that is sponsoring your talk.

World Allergy Day recognized Dec. 4 at World Allergy Congress
On Tuesday, Dec. 4, during the World Allergy Congress (WAC) in Bangkok, Thailand, World Allergy Day 2007 will be hosted by the World Allergy Organization (WAO) in partnership with the Global Alliance against Chronic Respiratory Diseases (GARD) program of the World Health Organization (WHO).

The focus of World Allergy Day 2007 is Chronic Allergic Respiratory Diseases. World Allergy Day 2007 activities include a press conference on the “State of the World: Chronic Allergic Respiratory Diseases.” Subsequently, the WAO will release a report on the “State of World Allergy” to be published as a supplement to WAO’s official publication, World Allergy Organization Journal. The report will be updated every two years. Also scheduled, as part of the activities, is a World Allergy Day Symposium.

At the Congress in Bangkok, the WAO is also convening a meeting of regional leaders in allergy and clinical immunology, including ACAAI President Dr. Daniel Ein and ACAAI President-Elect Dr. Jay Portnoy, to map out a plan of action for World Allergy Day beyond 2007 that is sensitive to the varied allergy seasons and needs of the different regions of the world.

World Allergy Day 2007 co-chairs are Prof. Carlos E. Baena-Cagnani and ACAAI Past President Dr. Bob Lanier. For more information, or to organize a World Allergy Day celebration in your own region, please visit www.worldallergy.org/wad2007.

Anne Muñoz-Furlong to serve on NIH Director’s Council of Public Representatives
Anne Muñoz-Furlong, MPH, executive director of Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN), was one of six individuals selected by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to serve as a member of the director's Council of Public Representatives (COPR), the advisory committee to the NIH Director on issues important to the public. The COPR brings important matters of public interest forward for discussion and advises and assists in enhancing public participation in NIH activities and in increasing public understanding of NIH.

Muñoz-Furlong founded FAAN 15 years ago after her daughter was diagnosed with food allergies. FAAN currently has 30,000 members who work to increase public awareness, provide education, advocate, and advance research on behalf of the 12 million Americans with food allergies. Muñoz-Furlong also founded the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Alliance, made up of lay organizations in nine countries, which works to implement public policy changes on universal issues, such as food labeling and the availability of epinephrine.

Welcome to the AMA Corner prepared by Dr. Alnoor A. Malick, ACAAI Delegate to the AMA House of Delegates, to keep you abreast of important AMA news and developments impacting allergy-immunology.

During the Nov.10-13, 2007, policymaking meeting of the American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates, AMA delegates will address important issues that have an impact on physicians and their patients. As an AMA member, your input is needed as delegates deliberate these resolutions. Please fill out this short survey to lend your voice on the most important issues affecting your practice and your patients. Your timely feedback will help us strengthen organized medicine and, ultimately, the future of health care in America.

“Voice for the Uninsured” campaign podcast now available
The first installment in the AMA’s new “Voices” podcast series is now available online. Featuring music and interviews with uninsured artists, this series aims to share the real-life experiences of the 47 million people who go without health care coverage in America and promote change in the nation’s health care system.

The first podcast features Los Angeles-based recording artist Brian Joseph, who, like many musicians, lived for years without health insurance. In his interview, Joseph shares his story about the challenges he faced — and the hardships of other artists and musicians in his profession — as a victim of the health care coverage crisis, and how he hopes to bring people together on this issue to speak out for change to the current system.

As part of the initial phase of “Voice for the Uninsured,” the podcast series expands the Web-based component of the AMA’s campaign to educate voters and candidates of the 2008 presidential election, and promote the AMA’s plan for change. Visit http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/17712.html to download each podcast as it becomes available, view the AMA’s proposal for the uninsured and other campaign advertising materials, and sign a petition in support of the AMA’s plan. Check back in a few weeks for the next “Voices” podcast.

Concerned with placement in a tiered or narrow network?
Challenge it
To help physicians understand how best to challenge their placement in health insurers’ networks, the AMA has created a new one-page flier, “How to Challenge Your ‘Profile’ or Placement in a Tiered or Narrow Network.” This resource offers physicians eight steps to follow when challenging their network placement with insurers. These steps mirror the problems physicians have identified with these types of programs, such as the use of claims data, inadequate risk adjustment, lack of an appeal mechanism or invalid ratings. Visit http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/368/challenge_profiling.pdf to download this flier.

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 13 of Pediatric Allergy: Principles & Practices, edited by Donald Y.M. Leung, et al. Review questions were written by Drs. Bret Haymore and Jiun Joon at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Copyright © 2007 American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. All rights reserved.
ACAAI eNews is sent as a membership benefit of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.
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Do you have news, responses or opinions to share with us? Please e-mail the association office at enews@acaai.org