Early Regular Egg Exposure During Infancy To Prevent Egg Allergy: A Randomised Controlled Trial.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,304,911.00
Summary
Food allergies are common and result in a significant burden to families and the health care system. One approach to prevent food allergies may be to introduce specific foods earlier than currently recommended. The study will compare early regular introduction of egg from 4-6 months compared to the more common practice of egg avoidance until 10 months of age. If successful at reducing egg allergy, this approach will have a significant impact on reducing the burden of allergic disease.
I am a research scientist measuring inhaled and exhaled bioaerosols, such as viruses and allergens, to determine their clinical role in human respiratory diseases, particularly asthma.
The prevalence of asthma in Australia is amongst the highest in the world yet no trials of primary prevention have been conducted which address the most common known causative agent (housedust mite allergens) and the most common known protective factor (dietary omega-3 fatty acids). Until the effectiveness of interventions which address these factors is certain, the value of the wide array of advice given to asthmatics by various health institutions will not be known. We are applying to continue ....The prevalence of asthma in Australia is amongst the highest in the world yet no trials of primary prevention have been conducted which address the most common known causative agent (housedust mite allergens) and the most common known protective factor (dietary omega-3 fatty acids). Until the effectiveness of interventions which address these factors is certain, the value of the wide array of advice given to asthmatics by various health institutions will not be known. We are applying to continue the Childhood Asthma Prevention Study (CAPS) which has been underway since mid-1997. CAPS is a randomised controlled trial in which 616 infants at high risk of developing asthma because of a family history have been enrolled. The interventions include allergen reduction and dietary supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids. The interventions are designed to have maximum effect but be simple to implement by parents. Several measures of compliance are being collected and regular contact is maintained though telephone calls and frequent home visits. Objective and subjective measurements of exposures, atopy, diet and asthmatic symptoms are being collected at 3 month intervals and at medical assessments when the children are 18 months, 3 and 5 years old. It is essential that we continue the study until all children are aged 5 and we will be able to test conclusively whether the interventions have had a positive effect. If so, CAPS will form the basis for a nationwide public health campaign which will have the potential to reduce the incidence of childhood asthma in Australia.Read moreRead less
Environmental Influences On Allergic Airways Disease From Birth To 8yrs: Long-term Outcomes Of A Randomised Trial (CAPS)
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$530,000.00
Summary
The prevalence of asthma in Australia is among the highest in the world yet no trials of primary prevention have been conducted which address the most common known causative agent (housedust mite allergens) and the most common known protective factor (dietary omega-3 fatty acids). Until the effectiveness of interventions which address these factors is certain, it will not be possible to give confident advice about how to prevent asthma. We are applying to continue follow up of the cohort of the ....The prevalence of asthma in Australia is among the highest in the world yet no trials of primary prevention have been conducted which address the most common known causative agent (housedust mite allergens) and the most common known protective factor (dietary omega-3 fatty acids). Until the effectiveness of interventions which address these factors is certain, it will not be possible to give confident advice about how to prevent asthma. We are applying to continue follow up of the cohort of the Childhood Asthma Prevention Study (CAPS) which has been underway since mid-1997. CAPS is a randomised controlled trial in which 616 infants at high risk of developing asthma because of a family history have been enrolled. The interventions include allergen reduction and dietary supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids. The interventions are designed to have maximum effect but be simple to implement by parents. Objective and subjective measurements of exposures, atopy, diet and asthmatic symptoms are being collected at 3 month intervals and at medical assessments when the children are 18 months, 3 and 5 years old. The interventions are stopped at age 5 years. The continued follow up of the cohort to age 8 will enable us to test conclusively if the interventions have had a positive effect. If so, CAPS will form the basis for a nationwide public health campaign which will have the potential to reduce the incidence of childhood asthma in Australia.Read moreRead less
The main purpose of this study is to understand how airborne fungi affect asthmatics who are allergic to them. Fungi or moulds release large numbers of spores into the air that are inhaled. In many cases fungal spores outnumber other particles that carry allergen, such as pollens or cat dander, by 100 to 1. This makes fungi the most common potential allergen in the environment. Fungi have been associated with respiratory diseases including fungal sinusitis, asthma, rhinitis, allergic alveolitis ....The main purpose of this study is to understand how airborne fungi affect asthmatics who are allergic to them. Fungi or moulds release large numbers of spores into the air that are inhaled. In many cases fungal spores outnumber other particles that carry allergen, such as pollens or cat dander, by 100 to 1. This makes fungi the most common potential allergen in the environment. Fungi have been associated with respiratory diseases including fungal sinusitis, asthma, rhinitis, allergic alveolitis and sick building syndrome. Largely due to their diversity and complexity, allergenic fungi have not been well studied and the ways in which individuals vary when inhaling spores is not known. Unlike other allergenic particles, it is unlikely that fungal spores release their allergen as soon as they are inhaled because we have shown in earlier in vitro studies that fungi continue to release allergen over time and this is likely to be the case when they are inhaled. Our laboratory has developed two new techniques that allow us to measure how many spores people inhale and whether they are allergic to them. This study will use these tools to detect and identify the important allergenic fungi involved in domestic and outdoor exposure of asthmatics, the degree of contribution to the total allergen load to which subjects are exposed and identify in what conditions fungi are the causal agents in location-specific symptoms. This study will also investigate allergen production of fungi in situ in the human nose, which will have application in allergic sinusitis and asthma amongst other respiratory diseases. We will investigate how readily allergenic spores germinate in the nose and under what conditions they release allergen.Read moreRead less
Chronic pain is a common and debilitating condition. One in five people in the Australian community have been found to experience chronic pain at any one time. Although there is no evidence of a consistent increase in rates of chronic pain, the rate of permanent disability has increased dramatically in recent decades. This has contributed to the growing cost of chronic pain. For example, back pain is the most common reason for filing workers' compensation claims and leads to loss of 101.8 millio ....Chronic pain is a common and debilitating condition. One in five people in the Australian community have been found to experience chronic pain at any one time. Although there is no evidence of a consistent increase in rates of chronic pain, the rate of permanent disability has increased dramatically in recent decades. This has contributed to the growing cost of chronic pain. For example, back pain is the most common reason for filing workers' compensation claims and leads to loss of 101.8 million workdays annually. The annual costs of medical care for back pain alone have been estimated at $AUD50 billion in the US and $10 billion in Australia. Not only is chronic pain a considerable economic burden, it is also a considerable personal burden to patients. Pain is one of the strongest predictors of poor quality of life and has consistently been found to be associated with high rates of depression. Although there is a large body of research that investigates what factors are associated with chronic pain, there is surprisingly little research that investigates the mechanisms that cause chronicity. Theories of chronic pain suggest that psychological characteristics increase the propensity for people to develop chronic pain. Specifically, theories argue that those people who tend to be fearful of pain will over-attend to painful sensations and avoid pain-provoking activities and as a result are at risk of developing chronic pain. This study will test those theories. If it is found that over-attending to pain does predispose patients to develop chronic pain, this will have important implications for preventing the development of chronic pain. These findings could help to devise early interventions to prevent chronicity and thereby reduce the economic burden to health services and the emotional burden to patients in terms of reduced quality of life.Read moreRead less