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Little is known about how sun exposure may affect the maternal skin barrier during pregnancy when many hormonal and physiological changes occur. In this longitudinal observational study, 50 pregnant women were recruited at 18-24 weeks' gestation, 25 in summer-autumn, and 25 in winter-spring. At three time points in pregnancy at 18-24, 28-30, and 36-38 weeks' gestation, participants completed a validated sun exposure questionnaire and had skin permeability and surface pH measured on the volar forearm.
A study led by The Kids Research Institute Australia has suggested vitamin D supplementation in babies is no match for sunlight when it comes to preventing eczema.
The Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA) Guideline: Infant Feeding for Food Allergy Prevention is an update of the 2016 ASCIA guideline. This updated guideline provides recommendations specifically in relation to infant feeding for food allergy prevention.
Common food allergens have been detected in breast milk with wide inter-individual variations in concentrations. As maternal factors, such as age, smoking, and body mass index have been associated with breast milk composition, we aimed to identify maternal characteristics associated with the concentration of food allergens in breast milk.
Infant growth trajectory may influence later-life obesity. Human milk provides a wide range of nutritional and bioactive components that are vital for infant growth. Compared to formula-fed infants, breastfed infants are less likely to develop later-onset obesity, highlighting the potential role of bioactive components present in human milk.
Infant allergy is the most common early manifestation of an increasing propensity for inflammation and immune dysregulation in modern environments. Refined low-fibre diets are a major risk for inflammatory diseases through adverse effects on the composition and function of gut microbiota. This has focused attention on the potential of prebiotic dietary fibres to favourably change gut microbiota, for local and systemic anti-inflammatory effects.
The dramatic rise in allergic disease has occurred in tandem with recent environmental changes and increasing indoor lifestyle culture. While multifactorial, one consistent allergy risk factor has been reduced sunlight exposure. However, vitamin D supplementation studies have been disappointing in preventing allergy, raising possible independent effects of ultraviolet (UV) light exposure.
Debbie Susan Palmer Prescott BSc BND PhD MBBS BMedSci PhD FRACP Head, Nutrition in Early Life Honorary Research Fellow debbie.palmer@uwa.edu.au
There is a growing need for early biomarkers that may predict the development of atopic dermatitis (AD). As alterations in skin barrier may be a primary event in disease pathogenesis, epithelial cell (EC) cytokines expression patterns may be a potential biomarker in early life to target allergy preventive strategies towards "at-risk" infants. The aim of this longitudinal investigation was to examine from birth over the course of infancy levels of the EC cytokines: thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), interleukin (IL)-33, IL-25, and IL-17 in infants at high-risk of AD due to maternal atopy.
Epidemiological studies have demonstrated that survivors of acute burn trauma are at long-term increased risk of developing a range of morbidities. The mechanisms underlying this increased risk remain unknown. This study aimed to determine whether burn injury leads to sustained immune dysfunction that may underpin long-term morbidity. Plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells were collected from 36 pediatric burn survivors >3 years after a non-severe burn injury (<10% total body surface area) and from age/sex-matched non-injured controls.