文档介绍：Rhinitis, sinusitis, and ocular diseases Advances in Asthma, Allergy, and Immunology Series 2007 Advances in upper airway diseases and allergen immunotherapy Harold S. Nelson, MD Denver, Colo The purpose of this review is to highlight important articles on upper airway diseases and immunotherapy that appeared during 2006. Studies from Europe continue to examine the usefulness of the Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma classi?cation of allergic rhinitis as intermittent or persistent and its levels of severity as mild or moderate/severe. A number of physical agents were shown to effect nasal in?ammation: sudden temperature changes in patients with allergic rhinitis increased eosinophilic in?ammation; in children with allergic asthma, the personal exposure to particles < mm air pollution correlated with percent of nasal eosinophils and levels of markers of nasal exudation; and in patients who developed rhinorrhea on exposure to cold and windy weather, nasal challenge with cold dry air caused sloughing of nasal epithelial cells. A3-month double-blind, placebo-controlled study of nasal washes with amphoteracin B showed no bene?t in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis. Studies of immunotherapy with grass and dog dander extracts con?rmed the need for doses containing 15 to 20 mg of the major allergen for optimal effectiveness. The protective effect of immunotherapy on the development of asthma in children with allergic rhinitis was shown to still be present 2 years pletion of a 3-year course of treatment. Injection immunotherapy with a moderate dose of house dust mite extract in house dust–sensitive adults with atopic dermatitis reduced symptoms and use of corticosteroids and pared with treatment with about 1/1000 of that dose of the same extract. Pretreatment for 9 weeks with the monoclonal anti-IgE antibody omalizumab reduced systemic reactions during rush immunotherapy 5-fold and allowed further build-up at weekly intervals without systemic reactions. A revie