Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a condition frequently encountered in medical practices across the country. More than 60% of children with AD are at risk to develop allergic rhinitis or asthma (the atopic march). Patients with AD have a unique predisposition to colonization or infection by Staphylococcus aureus. Treatments for AD need to rapidly control symptoms of the disease, improve quality of life and prevent exacerbations. Given the chronic and relapsing nature of the disease, therapies need to encourage good compliance and be well tolerated.

Ixabepilone had an acceptable safety profile at the MTD of 25 mg/m(2) (as a 30-min weekly infusion on a continuous 21-day schedule) and at 20 mg/m(2) (as a 1-h weekly infusion on a modified 28-day schedule). The clinical activity and acceptable tolerability profile warrant further single- or combination-agent evaluation.

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A b s t r a c tIntroduction: Chronic urticaria (CU), in view of its manifestations (pruritus, wheals), chronic and recurrent nature is very bothersome for patients and significantly influences their quality of life. Aim: To assess the importance of sleep problems and sleep-related breathing disorders (SRBDs) declared by CU patients, for their quality of life. Material and methods: Twenty-eight patients with CU at an asymptomatic stage or with minimal symptoms and signs were qualified for the study. In these patients, assessment of urticaria severity, QoL and SRBDs incidence was carried out. Results: In a questionnaire study (CU-Q2oL), about 54% of the patients with CU complained of sleeping problems, about 80% reported significant fatigue and lack of concentration in the daytime. Respiratory polygraphy, an objective measure of sleep-related breathing disorders (SRBDs) demonstrated their higher incidence in patients with CU than in the general population, but these disorders were mild and had no influence on the reduced quality of life of the study patients, compared with a group of patients without SRBDs. Conclusions: The occurrence of SRBDs was found in 25% of patients with CU at asymptomatic or oligosymptomatic stages. The SRBDs in those patients were mild, required no treatment and their occurrence did not cause any significant reduction in their quality of life.

Background: Platelet-activating factor (PAF) has a direct role as a mediator in the pathogenesis of various disorders with an inflammatory component, including those with allergic aetiology. The peripheral blood concentration of PAF is dynamically regulated by plasma PAF acetylhydrolase (PAF-AH). Previous studies suggest that low activity of plasma PAF-AH could be a predictive marker for increased severity of some types of allergic hypersensitivity reactions -especially anaphylaxis. Aim of the study: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the association between plasma PAF-AH activity and severity in patients with anaphylactic reactions following a wasp or bee sting. Methods: The study group of 89 patients was divided into two subgroups depending on the increasing severity of the most severe anaphylactic reaction in the past, which was assessed according to the Müller's scale. A control group of 20 people was established. Plasma PAF-AH activity was measured using a colorimetric method. Results: It has been observed that plasma activity of platelet-activating factor acetylhydrolase was significantly lower in patients with anaphylaxis history compared to the control group with negative atopic history (on average 21.38 nmol/min/ml for the control group, 9.47 nmol/min/ml for the first subgroup and 10.16 nmol/min/ml for the second subgroup, in both cases p < 0.0001). Conclusion: The plasma activity of PAF-AH is a promising parameter that can help to distinguish a group of patients not threatened with development of anaphylaxis and not requiring laborious or expensive prophylactic procedures. | INTRODUCTIONPlatelet-activating factor (PAF), which was discovered in 1972 [1], is considered an important hypersensitivity mediator. Its influence includes anaphylaxis and its most severe form -anaphylactic shock. In the murine BALB/c model it was found, that PAF together with histamine may be responsible for the occurrence of anaphylaxis. The effect of PAF was more related to the reduction of cardiac output than to generalized vasodilation [2]. Moreover, some reports suggest that the importance of PAF as a mediator of anaphylaxis in humans may be superior to histamine and tryptase [3].