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Association between pertussis vaccination in infancy and childhood asthma: A population-based record linkage cohort studyAsthma is among the commonest noncommunicable diseases of childhood and often occurs with other atopic comorbidities. A previous case-control study found evidence that compared to children who received acellular pertussis (aP) vaccines in early infancy, children who received one or more doses of whole-cell pertussis (wP) vaccine had lower risk of developing IgE-mediated food allergy. We hypothesized that wP vaccination in early infancy might protect against atopic asthma in childhood.
Research
Maternal diet modulates the infant microbiome and intestinal Flt3L necessary for dendritic cell development and immunity to respiratory infectionPoor maternal diet during pregnancy is a risk factor for severe lower respiratory infections in the offspring, but the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Here, we demonstrate that in mice a maternal low-fiber diet led to enhanced LRI severity in infants because of delayed plasmacytoid dendritic cell recruitment and perturbation of regulatory T cell expansion in the lungs.
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Genetic polymorphism of KIR2DL4 (CD158d), a putative NK cell receptor for HLA-G, does not influence susceptibility to asthmaNo reproducible associations with KIR2DL4 genotype were identified, leading us to conclude that the KIR2DL4 9A/10A polymorphism has no influence...

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Can a simple urine test predict asthma? New study aims to find outThe Kids Research Institute Australia researchers are investigating whether a simple urine test could predict whether young children with wheezing symptoms will go on to develop asthma.

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Annual Community Lecture: You Are What You BreatheJoin us for our Annual Community Lecture entitled "You Are What You Breathe" with Professor Stephen Holgate.

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Video: The burden of asthma - Michelle's storyMichelle has spent countless nights watching her son struggle to breathe. Our researchers are working to find better treatments for kids living with asthma.

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Video: The burden of asthma - Karen's storyThe Kids Research Institute Australia researchers are at the forefront of asthma research globally. Watch Karen's story to learn why it's so important.

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Researchers urge caution in how asthma test is usedResearchers are urging caution in the use of a widely accepted test for diagnosing asthma, after their study found it may not be accurate in some settings.
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New system for predicting asthma in childrenAsthma researchers at Perth's The Kids for Child Health Research are developing a world first system for predicting the severity of asthma in children
Research
Virus infection and allergy in the development of asthma: What is the connection?Information is accumulating which implicates airway inflammation resulting from respiratory viral infections, acting against a background of atopy.