Inducible nitric oxide synthase plays important roles in allergic reactions of pollinosis in mice sensitized with pollen allergy

The risk of open angle glaucoma in young adults with allergic diseases: a Nationwide cohort study

This study investigated the potential associations between allergic diseases (asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis) and the development of primary open-angle glaucoma. We utilized authorized data from the Korean National Health Information Database (KNHID), which provides comprehensive medical claims data and information from the National Health Screening Program. We compared the baseline characteristics of subjects with and without allergic diseases and calculated the incidence and risk of glaucoma development. Cox proportional hazard regression analysis was used to determine the risk of glaucoma development in subjects with allergic diseases. A total of 171,129 subjects aged 20-39 with or without allergic diseases who underwent a general health examination between 2009 and 2015 were included. Subjects with allergic diseases exhibited a higher incidence of glaucoma compared to the control group. The hazard ratio (HR) of glaucoma onset was 1.49 and 1.39 in subjects with at least one allergic disease before and after adjusting for potential confounding factors, respectively. Among allergic diseases, atopic dermatitis showed the highest risk for glaucoma development (aHR 1.73) after adjusting for confounders. Allergic rhinitis showed an increased risk for incident glaucoma after adjustment (aHR 1.38). Asthma showed the lowest but still increased risk for glaucoma (aHR 1.22). The associations were consistent in all subgroup analyses stratified by sex, smoking, drinking, exercise, diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, or history of steroid. In conclusion, allergic diseases are associated with increased risk of glaucoma development. Among allergic diseases, atopic dermatitis showed the highest risk for glaucoma development followed by allergic rhinitis and asthma.

Comparison of Medical Comorbidity between Patients with Normal-Tension Glaucoma and Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma: A Population-Based Study in Taiwan

The objective was to investigate different comorbidities developed in normal-tension glaucoma (NTG) and primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) patients. This was a case-control study, with 1489 people in the NTG group and 5120 people in the POAG group. Patient data were obtained from the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2010 (LHID2010) of Taiwan for the 2008-2013 period. The chi-square test was used to compare categorical variables, such as gender, income and urbanisation level, between NTG and POAG patients, and the two-tailed t test was used to compare continuity between the two groups. We use a multivariate logic regression model to assess the risk of each participant. The results are expressed in terms of odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Patients with NTG had significantly higher proportions of hypotension (adjusted OR, 1.984; 95% CI, 1.128-3.490), sleep disturbances (adjusted OR, 1.323; 95% CI, 1.146-1.528), peptic ulcers (adjusted OR, 1.383; 95% CI, 1.188-1.609) and allergic rhinitis (adjusted OR, 1.484; 95% CI, 1.290-1.707) than those with POAG. Conversely, arterial hypertension (adjusted OR, 0.767; 95% CI, 0.660-0.893), diabetes (adjusted OR, 0.850; 95% CI, 0.728-0.993) and atopic dermatitis (adjusted OR, 0.869; 95% CI, 0.763-0.990) had a lower risk in the NTG group than in the POAG group. We found that comorbidities such a hypotension, sleep disturbances and peptic ulcer and allergic rhinitis are more highly associated to NTG than POAG.

Cellular and Immunohistochemical Changes in Anaphylactic Shock Induced in the Ovalbumin-Sensitized Wistar Rat Model

Anaphylactic shock (AS) is a life-threatening, multisystem disorder arising from sudden release of mast cell- and basophil-derived mediators into the circulation. In this study, we have used a Wistar rat model to investigate AS-associated histopathologic changes in various organs. Rats were sensitized with ovalbumin (1 mg s.c), and AS was induced by intravenous injection of ovalbumin (1 mg). Experimental groups included nonallergic rats (n = 6) and allergic rats (n = 6). Heart rate and blood pressure were monitored during one hour. Organs were harvested at the end of the experiment and prepared for histologic and immunohistochemical studies. Lung, small bowel mucosa and spleen were found to undergo heavy infiltration by mast cells and eosinophils, with less prominent mast cell infiltration of cardiac tissue. The mast cells in lung, small bowel and spleen exhibited increased expression of tryptase, c-kit and induced nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). Increased expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) by vascular endothelial cells was noted principally in lung, heart and small bowel wall. The Wistar rat model of AS exhibited accumulation of mast cells and eosinophils in the lung, small bowel, and spleen to a greater extent than in the heart. We conclude that lung and gut are principal inflammatory targets in AS, and likely contribute to the severe hypotension of AS. Targeting nitric oxide (NO) production may help reduce AS mortality.

Allergic rhinitis is associated with open-angle glaucoma: a population-based case-control study

BACKGROUND

Despite many reports linking allergic rhinitis (AR) to problems of the eye, the relationship between AR and open-angle glaucoma (OAG) has not been studied. The purpose of this epidemiology study was to provide an estimation of the association of OAG with AR by using a population-based data set in Taiwan.

METHODS

We retrieved our study sample for this case-control study from the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2000. We extracted 7063 subjects with OAG as cases and 21,189 matched controls (three controls per case). We used conditional logistic regression analyses to calculate the odds ratio (OR) and corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) to describe the association between OAG and having previously been diagnosed with AR.

RESULTS

A chi-squared test showed that there was a significant difference in the prevalence of prior AR between cases and controls (28.8% versus 22.3%; p < 0.001). A conditional logistic regression analysis suggested that the OR of having previously been diagnosed with AR for cases was 1.40 (95% CI, 1.31∼1.48; p < 0.001) compared with controls after adjusting for monthly income, geographic region, urbanization level, hypertension, diabetes, asthma, coronary heart disease, hyperlipidemia, and hypothyroidism. It also revealed that OAG was consistently and significantly associated with prior AR across all age groups. In particular, subjects aged 50∼59 years had the highest OR for prior AR among cases compared with controls (OR, 1.77; 95% CI, 1.53∼2.06; p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

This outcome research found that there was an association between AR and OAG.

Anti-allergic and anti-inflammatory properties of Zizyphus mauritiana root bark

The MAF, a fraction with potent anti-allergic and anti-inflammatory compounds, is isolated fromZizyphus mauritianaroot bark. The MAF has an excellent ability to inhibit the complement system, COX-1, COX-2 and 5-LOX and has the potential to prevent anaphylactic shock and the Arthus reaction.

Resveratrol ameliorates subacute intestinal ischemia-reperfusion injury

BACKGROUND

Resveratrol has been shown to attenuate reactive oxygen species formation and protect against ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. However, the effects of resveratrol against subacute intestinal I/R injury are not clearly elucidated. Therefore, this study was designed to investigate the effects and possible protective mechanisms of resveratrol on subacute intestinal I/R injury in mice.

METHODS

BALB/c mice were subjected to 1 h ischemia by occluding the superior mesenteric artery and 24 h reperfusion. Histologic injury; myeloperoxidase, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione peroxidase activity; malondialdehyde level; inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), Ac-NF-κBp65, and sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) expression; NF-κB translocation; and nitric oxide (NO) production were examined in treated with or without resveratrol in the absence or presence of pharmacologic inhibitors.

RESULTS

Resveratrol significantly ameliorated subacute intestinal I/R injury accompanied with the decrease of NO production as well as iNOS expression. In addition, resveratrol obviously upregulated the expression of SIRT1 and inhibited the activity of NF-κB. After application of iNOS inhibitor S-methylisothiourea and NF-κB inhibitor pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate, the protective effect of resveratrol was significantly augmented by attenuating iNOS and NO production, indicating that resveratrol exerted its protective effect on intestinal I/R injury via NF-κB-mediated iNOS pathway. Furthermore, the protective effect of resveratrol was correlated with SIRT1, because application of SIRT1 inhibitor nicotinamide strikingly weakened the protective effect of resveratrol.

CONCLUSIONS

Taken together, our findings showed that resveratrol protects intestinal subacute I/R injury via the SIRT1-NF-κB pathway in an iNOS-NO-dependent manner. Therefore, resveratrol has a potential clinical prospect for further development of anti-injury therapy.