PURPOSE: It is widely known that allergic diseases progress through an allergic march. However, there have not been any recent reports in Korea on how the diseases progress. METHODS: Parents who visited one of the Pediatric Allergy Clinics of four university hospitals in Seoul with a child under the age of 6 years during the period from May 1-30, 2006 were asked to complete a questionnaire. RESULTS: A total of 229 parents answered the questionnaire about their children, of which 122 were male and 107 were female. The most common allergic disease before 2 years of age was atopic dermatitis (79%). Meanwhile, in 2- to 4-year age group, allergic rhinitis (38%) and asthma (37%) were predominant. The most common allergic disease in the 4- to 6-year age group was asthma (72%), followed by allergic rhinitis (64%). Seventy-three percent of the children had a family history of allergic disease, most often in the fathers (39%). Among patients with allergic rhinitis, 50% had experienced asthma in their earlier days and 30% had experienced atopic dermatitis. In addition, 57% of the children with asthma had suffered from atopic dermatitis. Parents believed that asthma was the most serious allergic disease. CONCLUSION: In the present study, allergic disease showed a tendency to march from atopic dermatitis to asthma and then to allergic rhinitis. Early diagnosis and treatment of atopic dermatitis is, therefore, considered important for prevention of the allergic march.
Asthma ; Child ; Dermatitis, Atopic ; Early Diagnosis ; Fathers ; Female ; Hospitals, University ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Korea ; Male ; Parents ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Rhinitis ; Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial

Moyamoya disease is a cerebrovascular disorder of unknown cause, characterized by slowly progressive bilateral stenosis or occlusion of the internal carotid arteries and produces collateral vessels. Moyamoya syndrome has rarely been reported in association with Graves' disease, especially in children. Several reports suggest that a cerebral infarction might have occurred in patients with clinical and laboratory evidence of hyperthyroid function. We report a case of Moyamoya disease in a girl with Down syndrome and thyrotoxicosis, and we review the relevant literature. To our best knowledge, this is the first report of Moyamoya disease associated with thyrotoxicosis in a young person in Korea.
Down Syndrome/complications ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Moyamoya Disease/*complications/*diagnosis ; Thyrotoxicosis/*complications ; Young Adult

PURPOSE: There is currently no information regarding predisposing factors for chronic and recurrent rhinosinusitis (RS), although these are considered to be multifactorial in origin, and allergic diseases contribute to their pathogenesis. We evaluated the predisposing factors that may be associated with chronic and recurrent RS. METHODS: In this prospective study, we examined patients with RS younger than 13 years of age, diagnosed with RS at six tertiary referral hospitals in Korea between October and December, 2006. Demographic and clinical data related to RS were recorded and analyzed. RESULTS: In total, 296 patients were recruited. Acute RS was the most frequent type: 56.4% of the patients had acute RS. The prevalences of other types of RS, in descending order, were chronic RS (18.9%), subacute RS (13.2%), and recurrent RS (11.5%). Factors associated with recurrent RS were similar to those of chronic RS. Patients with chronic and recurrent RS were significantly older than those with acute and subacute RS. The prevalences of allergic rhinitis, atopy, and asthma were significantly higher in patients with chronic and recurrent RS than those with acute and subacute RS. CONCLUSIONS: An association between atopy and chronic/recurrent RS, compared to acute and subacute RS, suggests a possible causal link.
Aluminum Hydroxide ; Asthma ; Carbonates ; Child ; Humans ; Korea ; Prevalence ; Prospective Studies ; Rhinitis ; Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial ; Tertiary Care Centers

PURPOSE: A life threatening systemic anaphylaxis can be caused by a food allergy, and the complete avoidance of all foods containing problematic allergens is the only way to manage food allergies. To prevent unexpected exposure to causative foods, food labeling systems have developed and are used in Korea. This study was conducted to evaluate the consumer's use and satisfaction of food labels, and to make recommendations for improving food labels. METHODS: A total of 962 subjects from 7 university hospitals, 130 adults had adverse food reactions (adult-AFR), 177 parents of children/adolescents that had AFR (parent-AFR), and 655 adults did not have AFR or no family history of AFR (no-AFR), were enrolled. We evaluated the use and satisfaction of food labels using a questionnaire. RESULTS: Only 25.4% of adult-AFR and 49.7% of parent-AFR, read food labels. Over 73% of the subjects were not satisfied with current labeling system, and the information was thought to be difficult to find or read, incorrect or insufficient, and required more information. The major suspected causes of AFR in adults were peach, egg, milk, mackerel, peanut/tree nuts, crab, shrimp and milk, peach, shrimp, pork and peanut/tree nuts in children/adolescent. Among the 12 foods enrolled in Korean allergic food labeling system, from the consumer's aspects, the most important items were egg, milk, peanut, mackerel and pork. CONCLUSION: The consumer's use and satisfaction of allergic food labels was very low. Thus, we need to improve consumer's accessibility and develop an education and information system for food labels.
Adult ; Allergens ; Anaphylaxis ; Food Hypersensitivity ; Food Labeling ; Hospitals, University ; Humans ; Information Systems ; Korea ; Milk ; Nuts ; Ovum ; Parents ; Perciformes ; Prunus persica

BACKGROUND: Atopic dermatitis(AD) and urticaria(UR) are common allergic diseases associated with various food allergens. We evaluated possible differences of sensitization rates to egg, milk, and soy bean according to the age in children with AD and UR. MATERIALS AND METHOD: One hundred and thirty-six patients(n=100 in AD, n=36 in UR) who had visited Samsung Medical Center from January 1998 to February 2000 were enrolled and divided into 3 groups by age: gruop I, children under 1year of age (45 in AD, 17 in UR); group II, between 1 and 3 years of age (32 in AD, 12 in UR); and group III, children over 3 years of age (23 in AD, 7 in UR). Total and specific IgE to cow milk, a-lactalbumin(a-LA), beta-lactoglobulin(beta-LG), casein, soy, egg white(EW) and egg yolk(EY) were measured by RAST or CAP system. RESULTS: Total IgE was highest in group III of AD patients(p<0.05), while there were no significant differences among the three groups of UR patients(p>0.05). The most common allergen among AD patients was EW(54%) for all age groups (51.1% in group I, 56.3% in group II, 56.5% in group III), while among UR patients, beta-LG(22.2%) was the most common food allergen, especially beta-LG(35.3%) in Group I, CM/casein(27.3%) in Group II, and CM/alpha-LA/casein/EW(12.5%) in Group III. Sensitization rate to EW, EY and soy bean were higher in AD than in UR(p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Sensitization rate to egg was higher in patients with AD than in those with UR. Restriction of eggs maybe helpful in management of infants with a family history of AD.
Allergens ; Caseins ; Child* ; Dermatitis, Atopic* ; Eggs ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin E ; Infant ; Milk* ; Ovum* ; Soy Milk* ; Soybeans ; Urticaria*