Editorial: Editor-in-Chief

Abstract

This issue of the Egyptian Journal of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology contains subjects that are of utmost importance. The review article is focused on the updates in hereditary angioedema. It covers the diagnostic approach and treatment options. After reading it you will find some multiple-choice questions for self-assessment. Four original articles were carefully selected after peer-review by international and local experts in the field. Pertussis seroimmunity in mother-neonate pairs and other pediatric age groups from Egypt is the title of one of them. The authors sought to investigate the pertussis immune status of mother-neonate pairs, children and adolescents in our country where pertussis vaccination is obligatory. The results denote sufficient pertussis seroimmunity rates in the studied age groups. Still, there were some failures in immune acquisition probably due to inefficient vaccination in some localities or waning of immunity with age. The second article reports an original work conducted in Lithuania. The authors investigated the association of T helper type 2 cytokines with sensitization to food in pediatric atopic dermatitis (AD) patients. They compared blood and stool Th2 cytokine concentrations and fecal calprotectin (FC) in pediatric atopic dermatitis patients with and without sensitization to food and concluded that increase in FC values is linked to AD, but not sensitization to food. The third article evaluated the CXCR 3 expression on CD4+T cells and in renal tissue of pediatric systemic lupus erythematosus patients. The authors concluded that serum CD4+CXCR3+ and not renal CXCR3 may be a potential marker of lupus nephritis activity. In the last article, the authors investigated the possible beneficial effect of montelukast on immune dysregulation that occurs in mild persistent asthma particularly in preschool children.