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Vietnam vets twin study links asthma, PTSD
Researchers at Columbia University discovered a strong link between asthma and post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a study in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. The scientists studied 3,065 male twin pairs who had served in active military duty in Vietnam and found that those who suffered the most from PTSD were 2.3 times more likely to have asthma. Other studies have provided an association between anxiety disorders and asthma, but this study focused more specifically on PTSD, which includes nightmares, flashbacks, and panic attacks that develop after traumatic events, such as combat. The higher risk was nearly the same for fraternal and identical twins, suggesting an environmental rather than a genetic root.  

Study: Defensive protein tied to severe asthma
People with severe asthma are more likely to have higher levels of the YKL-40 protein in their blood when compared with people without asthma, according to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers at Yale, the University of Paris, and the University of Wisconsin studied 253 adults both with and without asthma, measuring blood levels of YKL-40 at all three study sites. In Paris, the researchers also conducted lung biopsies. Overall, subjects with asthma had higher YKL-40 levels in both their blood and lung biopsies than did subjects without asthma. 

Children with eczema may be allergic to oats
Children with eczema may be allergic to oat proteins that are common in skin products, according to a study in Allergy. Scientists at Hôpital Pellegrin-Enfants, Bordeaux, France, studied 302 children ages 4 months to 15 years with eczema seen at the pediatric dermatology unit, using skin patch and skin prick tests to determine oat protein sensitivity. Nearly one-third were sensitive to oats. Oral food challenges, given to 32 of the 98 children who tested positive for oat sensitivity, showed 16 percent had sensitivity to oatmeal. None of the parents suspected that their children had an oat allergy. The authors suggested that oat-containing skin products not be used on children younger than 2 years old. 

A message from ACAAI President Dr. Jay M. Portnoy

Shall we talk?

On returning last week from our recent family reunion, otherwise known as the ACAAI Annual Meeting, it occurred to me that I would love to experience this type of interaction more often than once a year. And I’m not alone. Numerous times during the meeting, I heard colleagues who are in private practice bemoan the fact that they miss the academic environment in which they were trained. Many allergists are in private practice and have limited time to travel to nearby academic centers where allergy-related conferences are held on a regular basis.

Here at Children's Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, Mo., we are fortunate to have an allergy fellowship program, and along with that we sponsor four hours of allergy-related conferences each week. These consist of didactic lectures on various allergy topics, review of basic immunology following the outline of a textbook, journal clubs, case reports, biostatistics and discussions surrounding the ethics and legal aspects of clinical trials. Of course, these conferences are open to anyone, yet we rarely have attendance by community allergists. This is unfortunate since we — and our fellows — could learn a lot from experienced, private-practice allergists. In addition, allergists in practice could learn a lot from us.

One solution could be to hold conferences in the evening, when private allergists could attend. The problem with this is that most physicians are tired after a full day of work and would prefer to go home to their families rather than spend an evening at a journal club or discussing allergy and immunology topics.

Another option is to invite allergists in the community to phone in to our conference room. The advantage is eliminating the need to travel to our facility, and if the physician needed to attend to an urgent issue he or she could do so and then resume participation in the conference. It is even possible for multiple members of a practice to join in thanks to our speaker-phone and conference-call capabilities. The main limitation is that the remote attendee cannot see the other participants or slides and diagrams that might be drawn on our white board. Using a telephone also tends to cause a sense of separation and does not promote the feeling of actually being present in the room. Personally, I am a visual communicator and work best when I can see the person with whom I am speaking. There is much to say for body language and nonverbal communication.

Recently, a new series of technologies has become available that can help us overcome many of these limitations. That is why new technology using Web cams and Internet meetings is so exciting. We are now able to share our slides and drawings over the Internet in such a way that almost anyone on the planet can join us. In addition, with such services as Skype, Netmeeting, WebEx and others it is possible to hold true two-way interactive video conferences at very low cost. We have been doing this in a limited way for the last six months with selected colleagues across the nation. Just think; it is now possible to have a different world-class professor join us to discuss his or her work and answer questions every week.

What I would like to see is for academic centers to reach out to community allergists by inviting them to participate in their weekly conferences. This could be done either by inviting them to attend physically or by offering to connect them via teleconference or, ideally, via video conferencing. If we do more of this it should be possible to include all of our colleagues in an interactive dialogue that would go a long way toward enhancing our practice of allergy. Ultimately, it should even be possible to hold virtual ACAAI meetings several times per year. After all, learning should not be confined to one meeting per year; it should be year-round.

Dr. Jay Portnoy installed as ACAAI President
Dr. Jay M. Portnoy, Kansas City, Mo., was installed as president of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology at the ACAAI Annual Meeting in Dallas on Nov. 13.

Other elected officers were: Richard G. Gower, M.D., Spokane, Wash., president-elect; Sami L. Bahna, M.D., Dr.PH., Shreveport, La., vice president; Stanley M. Fineman, M.D., M.B.A., Marietta, Ga., treasurer. Elected as Regents for three-year terms were: Mark Corbett, M.D., Louisville, Ky.; Lawrence M. DuBuske, M.D., Harvard, Mass.; and Lyndon E. Mansfield, M.D., El Paso, Texas.

Dr. Portnoy is professor of pediatrics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine; and chief, Section of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology at Children’s Mercy Hospitals & Clinics in Kansas City, Mo. He has served on the ACAAI Board of Regents, 1994-97 and 2005-present, and is on the Board of Directors for the ACAAI Foundation. He was honored with the 2004 Bela Schick lectureship, the 2001 Distinguished Fellow Award and the 1999 Distinguished Service Award.

He is past president of the Missouri State Allergy Society, 1993-95, and past president of the Kansas City Allergy Society, 1988. His asthma disease management program recently won the Making a Difference award from the Asthma & Allergy Network/Mothers of Asthmatics and the Leadership award from the Environmental Protection Agency for a program involving indoor air quality. He recently received a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to study the effect of environmental exposures and remediation on pediatric respiratory health.

Dr. Daniel Ein (left) passes the gavel to incoming ACAAI President Dr. Jay M. Portnoy













ReachMD XM Radio Channel 157
now available free online to ACAAI members
For a limited time, as a special benefit of your ACAAI membership, you can get free access to ReachMD XM radio channel 157, the only 24/7 radio channel created by physicians with programming and medical education for physicians. This six-month free access to ReachMD XM 157 is a $23.99 value. This access will give you the ability to listen to this outstanding medical content live, online on your home or office computer.

This innovative radio channel for medical professionals debuted in the spring of 2007 on the XM satellite network and is truly one of kind. ReachMD XM 157 offers breaking medical news, roundtable discussions, medical education and other unique programming 24 hours a day. The channel includes a special series called “Hot Topics in Allergy,” which airs exclusively on the channel and was created in partnership with the College. The short-form program highlights articles and key studies from the ACAAI medical journal, Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, as well as related literature reviews from its publication AllergyWatch. Interviews conducted at the 2007 ACAAI Annual Meeting in Dallas will be adapted for future broadcasts.

It’s simple to redeem your free ACAAI member benefit … a $23.99 value:
-Go to www.reachmd.com
-Click on the 'Redeem Promotion Code'
-Enter the code: ACAAI
-Press SUBMIT


ACAAI ambassadors speak at Sochi, Russia meeting
Dr. William Silvers and Dr. Todd Mahr were participants and guest lecturers at the International joint meeting, “Allergic Diseases: New Trends in Diagnostics and Treatment,” Oct.17-20, in Sochi, Russia.

“Our host, Dr. Roman Khanferyan was very engaged in education and enthusiastic about the College being a supporting society,” said Dr. Mahr. “Dr. Silvers and I both actively encouraged applications for International Affiliate Membership in the ACAAI."

ACAAI faculty Dr. Todd Mahr (left) and William Silvers (right) with Prof. Roman Khanferyan, Institute of Allergy and Asthma, Sochi, Russia.

Drs. Haymore and Mbuthia FIT representatives on ACAAI Board
Dr. Bret R. Haymore became senior national Fellow-in-Training (FIT) representative, and Dr. Jennifer W. Mbuthia was elected junior FIT representative at the Annual FITs Business Meeting in Dallas.

Dr. Soo Hee Kim-Delio was recognized for her two-year term on the ACAAI Board of Regents at the ACAAI Annual Business Meeting.


Left to right: Fellows-in-Training representatives Drs. Soo Hee Kim-Delio, Bret Haymore and Jen Mbuthia.

New FIT Bowl champion: Medical College of Wisconsin
Of the 24 teams competing in the 16th Annual ACAAI FIT Bowl in Dallas, first prize went to Drs. Titus Chang and Monica Vasudey of the Medical College of Wisconsin. Second prize went to Drs. Ganesh Shanmugam and Sumit Bhutani from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

The FIT Bowl, sponsored by UCB, was a fun and fast-paced allergy/immunology quiz show with questions ranging from basic science to trivia. There was standing room only as the crowd cheered on their favorites and tested their knowledge.

FIT Bowl first prize winners were Drs. Titus Chang (left) and Monica Vasudey

Board Review Corner
Welcome to the Board Review Corner prepared by Dr. Bret R. Haymore, 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 14 of Pediatric Allergy: Principles & Practices, edited by Donald Y.M. Leung, et al. Review questions were written by Dr. Bret R. Haymore.

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