allergic rhinitis

Allergic rhinitis has a high prevalence, with more than 400 million affected globally. The aim of this study was to use real-world data to assess the impact of allergic rhinitis on academic performance (measured through a visual analog scale – VAS education – and the WPAI+CIQ:AS questionnaire), and to identify factors associated with the impact of allergic rhinitis on academic performance.

Data from 1970 users of the MASK-air® mHealth app between 13 and 29 years old was used. Researchers assessed the correlation between variables calculating the impact of allergies on academic performance (VAS education, WPAI+CIQ:AS impact of allergy symptoms on academic performance, and WPAI+CIQ:AS percentage of education hours lost due to allergies), and other variables. Furthermore, they have identified factors linked to the impact of allergic symptoms on academic productivity through statistical models.

VAS education was strongly correlated with the WPAI+CIQ:AS impact of allergy symptoms on academic productivity, VAS global allergy symptoms, and VAS nose. In multivariable regression models, immunotherapy showed a strong negative association with VAS education. Poor rhinitis control, measured by the combined symptom-medication score, was associated with worse VAS education, higher impact on academic productivity, and higher percentage of missed education hours due to allergy.

In conclusion, allergy symptoms and worse rhinitis control are correlated with worse academic productivity, while immunotherapy is linked to higher productivity.

Allergic rhinitis is caused by pollens and its symptoms include sneezing, nasal congestion, rhinorrhea, nasal itching and airflow obstruction. Allergic rhinitis diagnosis is usually made based on clinical history, skin prick tests and biomarkers measurement of specific IgE, but there is space for precision medicine to provide more accurate diagnostic tools.

The aim of this review was to describe the advances in the treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis and evaluate the drugs to be used according to the grade of disease and the characteristics of the patients, and the role of allergen immunotherapy.

The experts concluded that treatment of allergic rhinitis includes various agents, depending on the severity of the disease. Allergen immunotherapy has high evidence of demonstrated efficacy demonstrated, and precision medicine is improving a lot the diagnosis of allergic rhinitis. Nevertheless, there is a long-term low adherence to allergen immunotherapy that needs to be resolved in the future.

Allergic rhinitis has a lifetime prevalence of up to 50% in some countries. This constitutes a high burden in social, school and work life. The aim of this report is to demonstrate that Value-Added Medicines such as the use of on-demand (PRN) nasal sprays may be enough to manage allergic rhinitis.

Value-Added Medicines consists of the research of existing medicines for new therapeutic purposes.

Current treatment for allergic rhinitis consists in continuous long-term treatments after clinical trials carried for at least 14 days with over 70% adherence. A new format to treat allergic rhinitis could be using on demand treatments according to symptoms, instead of the continuous treatment.

Real-world data found that 90% of the patients increase their medications to control symptoms during the pollen season, including oral H1-antihistamines, which is not in line with the recommendations.

As most patients who request for a primary care appointment have uncontrolled symptoms, they don’t follow the long-term prescription and self-medicate.

In conclusion, real-life data indicates that patients prefer on-demand treatment instead of continuous and this should be reflected in the upcoming orientations: individualized treatment according to symptom profile, severity, and duration, along with the patient’s preference for oral or intranasal administration.

Allergic rhinitis affects up to 40% of adults and 25% of children globally, however its mechanisms are not yet well elucidated. The majority of people with allergic rhinitis also have lower airway hyperresponsiveness, and an allergic rhinitis occurrence can increase this hyperresponsiveness.

The aim of this review was to understand the mechanism of the effect of allergic rhinitis on the lower airways. The effects of allergic rhinitis on the lower airways were studied in terms of epidemiology, anatomy, pathophysiology, nasal function loss, inflammation drainage, nasobronchial reflex, and whole-body circulatory flow to elucidate the mechanisms involved and provide patterns for future diagnosis, treatment, and experiments.

Researchers concluded that these mechanisms cannot be explained by a single mechanism, but by an interaction of several ones. The hyperresponsiveness of the lower airway may be caused by the rhinopulmonary reflex, lower airway drainage of allergens and nasal obstruction. However, it may also be caused by circulating factors such as IL-5 that stimulate bone marrow cells to differentiate into eosinophils and for IL-4 and IL-13 to upregulate adhesion- and chemotaxis-related proteins. More studies are needed to design future diagnosis and treatment approaches.

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is an IgE and Th2-mediated inflammatory nasal disease. It originates from a sensitized immune response to inhaled allergens, which is thought to result from an imbalance in the Th1-Th2 immune regulation, resulting in increased levels of Th2 cytokines. Nasal ephitelial cells exposed to allergens induce Th2 inflammatory responses that spread to the upper airway mucosa. A commensalism host-microbial can be the basis of the innate immune responses in the nasal mucosa, and the microbial characteristics of the nasal mucus can impact the mechanisms of the initial allergic response. The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in the microbial composition in the nasal mucus of patients with AR and to understand the relationship between dysbiosis of the nasal microbiome and allergic inflammation.

The investigators analyzed the microbiota of 104 samples (n=42 participants with AR vs. n=30 healthy participants), in a total of 364,923 high-quality bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA-encoding gene sequence reads. The nasal mucus of healthy participants had mainly Proteobacteria (Ralstonia genus) and Actinobacteria (Propionibacterium genus) phyla, whereas the Firmicutes (Staphylococcus genus) phylum was significantly abundant in the nasal mucus of participants with AR. More sequencing data from 32 participants (healthy participants: n=15, AR patients: n=17) shown a greater abundance of Staphylococcus epidermidis, Corynebacterium

accolens, and Nocardia coeliaca, in 41.55% of mapped sequences in the nasal mucus of healthy participants. Patients with AR had a more pronounced dysbiosis of nasal microbiome and Staphylococcus aureus exhibited the greatest abundance (37.69%).

In conclusion, this study demonstrated that the nasal mucus of patients with AR have S. aureus–dominant dysbiosis, which suggests a role of host–microbial commensalism in allergic inflammation.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted worldwide health. Underlying diseases have been shown to affect the prevalence and outcomes of COVID-19. Allergic rhinitis and asthma can increase the susceptibility and severity of COVID-19, but it is not known to which extension. This study aimed to study the role of allergic rhinitis and/or asthma in COVID-19 infection, severity, and mortality and evaluate whether its long-term medication can affect COVID-19 outcomes.

A total of 70,557 persons who had a SARS-CoV-2 test between March 16 and December 31, 2020, in the UK Biobank were analyzed. The rate of COVID-19 infection, hospitalization, and mortality concerning existing allergic rhinitis and/or asthma were statistically analyzed, together with the impact of long-term medications and the risk of hospitalization and death due to COVID-19 infection.

People with allergic rhinitis had lower positive rates of SARS-CoV-2 tests (RR:0.75; 95%CI, 0.69-0.81, p<0.001), with men having a lower susceptibility (RR:0.74; 95%CI, 0.65-0.85, p<0.001) than women (RR:0.8; 95%CI, 0.72-0.9, p<0.001). People with asthma had comparable results if they were <65 years-old (RR:0.93; 95%CI, 0.86-1, p=0.044). People with asthma who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 had a higher risk of hospitalization (RR:1.42; 95%CI, 1.32-1.54, p<0.001). COVID-19 mortality was not impacted by allergic rhinitis or asthma. There was no relation between COVID-19 infection and severity and conventional medications for allergic rhinitis and/or asthma.

In conclusion, allergic rhinitis and asthma (<65 years old) may be a protective factor against COVID-19 infection, with asthma increasing the risk of hospitalization.

Particulate matter (PM) exposure is known to worsen respiratory conditions, namely allergic rhinitis. Allergic rhinitis prevalence is rising, affecting the quality of life. The objective of this study was to investigate the molecular mechanisms beneath the triggering of nasal and systemic inflammation by particulate matter, specifically the release of plasmatic extracellular vesicles and the relation between the host and nasal microbiome.

The study included 26 participants with allergic rhinitis and 24 matched healthy participants, whose reaction to PM10 and PM25 exposure was assessed on the bacteria-derived-extracellular vesicles portion (bEV) and the host-derived-extracellular vesicles (hEV), and also on the bacterial nasal microbiome (bNM). The function of bNM as a modifier of PM effects on the extracellular vesicles signaling network in the context of allergic rhinitis was also evaluated.

This study has shown an association between particulate matter exposure in participants with allergic rhinitis, both in the context of bNM composition and plasmatic extracellular vesicles release, affecting in different ways the release of extracellular vesicles and the composition of bNM. More studies are needed to better understand the link between particulate matter exposure and bNM modulation and plasmatic extracellular vesicles release and characterize the different responses observed in participants after particulate matter exposure.