The three body pion decays ... where X is a weakly interacting neutral boson, were searched for using the full data set from the PIENU experiment. An improved limit on ... in the mass range ... and a ...first result for ... in the region ... were obtained. The Majoron-neutrino coupling model was also constrained using the current experimental result of the ... branching ratio.(ProQuest: ... denotes formulae omitted.)
A search for massive neutrinos has been made in the decay π+→e+ν. No evidence was found for extra peaks in the positron energy spectrum indicative of pion decays involving massive neutrinos (π→e+νh). ...Upper limits (90% C.L.) on the neutrino mixing matrix element |Uei|2 in the neutrino mass region 60–135 MeV/c2 were set and are an order of magnitude improvement over previous results.
A new measurement of the branching ratio R_{e/μ}=Γ(π^{+}→e^{+}ν+π^{+}→e^{+}νγ)/Γ(π^{+}→μ^{+}ν+π^{+}→μ^{+}νγ) resulted in R_{e/μ}^{exp}=1.2344±0.0023(stat)±0.0019(syst)×10^{-4}. This is in agreement ...with the standard model prediction and improves the test of electron-muon universality to the level of 0.1%.
Summary
Background
Epidemiological studies suggest that hookworm infection protects against asthma, and therefore that hookworm infection may have a direct or an indirect therapeutic potential in ...this disease. We now report the first clinical trial of experimental hookworm infection in people with allergic asthma.
Objectives
To determine the effects of experimental hookworm infection in asthma.
Methods
Thirty‐two individuals with asthma and measurable airway responsiveness to adenosine monophosphate (AMP) were randomized and double blinded to cutaneous administration of either ten Necator americanus larvae, or histamine solution (placebo), and followed for 16 weeks. The primary outcome was the change in provocation dose of inhaled AMP required to reduce forced expiratory volume in 1 s by 20% (PD20AMP) from baseline to week 16. Secondary outcomes included change in several measures of asthma control and allergen skin sensitivity and the occurrence of adverse effects.
Results
Mean PD20AMP improved in both groups, more in the hookworm 1.49 doubling doses (DD) than the placebo group (0.98 DD), but the difference between groups was not significant (0.51 DD; 95% confidence interval: −1.79 to 2.80; P=0.65). There were no significant differences between the two groups for other measures of asthma control or allergen skin sensitization. Infection was generally well tolerated.
Conclusions
Experimental infection with ten hookworm larvae in asthma did not result in significant improvement in bronchial responsiveness or other measures of asthma control in this study. However, infection was well tolerated and resulted in a non‐significant improvement in airway responsiveness, indicating that further studies that mimic more closely natural infection are feasible and should be undertaken.
Cite this as: J. R. Feary, A. J. Venn, K. Mortimer, A. P Brown, D. Hooi, F. H. Falcone, D. I. Pritchard and J. R. Britton, Clinical & Experimental Allergy, 2010 (40) 299– 306.
Charged lepton flavor violating muon decay μ+ → e+XH, where XH is a massive neutral boson, was sought by searching for extra peaks in the muon decay μ+ → e+ν¯ν energy spectrum in the mXH mass region ...47.8–95.1 MeV/c2. No signal was found and 90% confidence level upper limits were set on the branching ratio Γ(μ+ → e+XH)/Γ(μ+ → e+ν¯ν) at the level of 10−5 for this region.
We evaluated the frequency of moderate and severe adverse events following coadministration of seasonal influenza vaccine (SIV) versus placebo with COVID-19 vaccines among adults to support practice ...guidelines.
FluVID is a participant-blinded, phase IV, randomised control trial. On the same day as the participant's scheduled COVID-19 vaccine, participants were randomised to receive SIV or saline placebo; those assigned placebo at visit one then received SIV a week later, and vice versa. Self-reported adverse events were collected daily for seven days following each visit. The primary endpoint was any solicited adverse event of at least moderate severity occurring up to seven days following receipt of SIV or placebo. This was modelled using a Bayesian logistic regression model. Analyses were performed by COVID-19 vaccine type and dose number.
Overall, 248 participants were enrolled; of these, 195 had received BNT162b2 and 53 had received mRNA1273 COVID-19 vaccines according to national guidelines. After randomisation, 119 were assigned to receive SIV and 129 were assigned to receive placebo at visit one. Adverse events were most frequently reported as mild (grade 1) in nature. Among 142 BNT162b2 booster dose one and 43 BNT162b2 booster dose two recipients, the posterior median risk difference for moderate/severe adverse events following SIV versus placebo was 13% (95% credible interval CrI -0.03 to 0.27) and 13% (95%CrI -0.37 to 0.12), respectively. Among 18 mRNA1273 booster dose one and 35 mRNA1273 booster dose two recipients, the posterior median risk difference of moderate/severe adverse events following influenza vaccine versus placebo was 6% (95%CrI -0.29 to 0.41) and -4% (95%CrI -0.30 to 0.23), respectively.
Adverse events following SIV and COVID-19 co-administration were generally mild and occurred with similar frequency to events following COVID-19 vaccine alone. We found no evidence to justify routine separation of SIV and COVID-19 vaccine doses.
ACTRN12621001063808.
Summary
Background
Epidemiological evidence suggests that hookworm infection protects against asthma. However, for ethical and safety reasons, before testing this hypothesis in a clinical trial in ...asthma it is necessary to establish whether experimental hookworm infection might exacerbate airway responsiveness during larval lung migration.
Objective
To determine whether hookworm larval migration through the lungs increases airway responsiveness in allergic individuals with measurable airway responsiveness but not clinical asthma, and investigate the general tolerability of infection and effect on allergic symptoms.
Methods
Thirty individuals with allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and measurable airway responsiveness to adenosine monophosphate (AMP) but not clinically diagnosed asthma were randomized, double‐blind to cutaneous administration of either 10 hookworm larvae or histamine placebo, and followed for 12 weeks. The primary outcome was the maximum fall from baseline in provocative dose of inhaled AMP required to reduce 1‐s forced expiratory volume by 10% (PD10AMP) measured at any time over the 4 weeks after active or placebo infection. Secondary outcomes included peak flow variability in the 4 weeks after infection, rhinoconjunctivitis symptom severity and adverse effect diary scores over the 12‐week study period, and change in allergen skin test responses between baseline and 12 weeks.
Results
Mean maximum change in PD10AMP from baseline was slightly but not significantly greater in the hookworm than the placebo group (−1.67 and −1.16 doubling doses; mean difference −0.51, 95% confidence interval −1.80 to 0.78, P=0.42). Symptom scores of potential adverse effects were more commonly reported in the hookworm group, but infection was generally well tolerated. There were no significant differences in peak‐flow variability, rhinoconjunctivitis symptoms or skin test responses between groups.
Conclusion
Hookworm infection did not cause clinically significant exacerbation of airway responsiveness and was well tolerated. Suitably powered trials are now indicated to determine the clinical effectiveness of hookworm infection in allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and asthma.
Summary
Background: Observational evidence suggests that infection with helminths protects against allergic disease and allergen skin sensitization. It is postulated that such effects are mediated by ...helminth‐induced cytokine responses, in particular IL‐10.
Objective: We tested this hypothesis in a rural area of central Vietnam where hookworm infection is endemic.
Methods: One thousand five hundred and sixty‐six schoolchildren aged 6–17 were randomly allocated to receive either anti‐helminthic therapy or a placebo at 0, 3, 6, and 9 months. We compared changes in the prevalence of exercise‐induced bronchoconstriction, allergen skin sensitization, flexural eczema on skin examination, questionnaire‐reported allergic disease (wheeze and rhinitis symptoms), and immunological parameters (hookworm‐induced IFN‐γ, IL‐5, IL‐10) between 0 and 12 months.
Results: One thousand four hundred and eighty‐seven children (95% of these randomized) completed the study. The most common helminth infections were hookworm (65%) and Ascaris lumbricoides (7%). There was no effect of the therapy on the primary outcome, exercise‐induced bronchoconstriction (within‐participant mean percent fall in peak flow from baseline after anti‐helminthic treatment 2.25 (SD 7.3) vs. placebo 2.19 (SD 7.8, P=0.9), or on the prevalence of questionnaire‐reported wheeze adjusted odds ratio (OR)=1.16, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.35–3.82, P=0.8 and rhinitis (adjusted OR=1.39, 0.89–2.15, P=0.1), or flexural dermatitis on skin examination (adjusted OR=1.15, 0.39–3.45, P=0.8). However, anti‐helminthic therapy was associated with a significantly higher allergen skin sensitization risk (adjusted OR=1.31, 1.02–1.67, P=0.03). This effect was particularly strong for children infected with A. lumbricoides at baseline (adjusted OR=4.90, 1.48–16.19, P=0.009). Allergen skin sensitization was inversely related to hookworm‐specific IL‐10 at baseline (adjusted OR=0.76, 0.59–0.99, P=0.04). No cytokine tested, including IL‐10, changed significantly after the anti‐helminthic therapy compared with the placebo.
Conclusion: A significant reduction in worm burden over a 12‐month period in helminth‐infected children increases the risk of allergen skin sensitization but not of clinical allergic disease. The effect on skin sensitization could not be fully explained by any of the immunological parameters tested.
Cite this as: C. Flohr, L. N. Tuyen, R. J. Quinnell, S. Lewis, T. T. Minh, J. Campbell, C. Simmons, G. Telford, A. Brown, T. T. Hien, J. Farrar, H. Williams, D. I. Pritchard and J. Britton, Clinical & Experimental Allergy, 2010 (40) 131–152.
Background: Patients with idiopathic chronic cough and unexplained airflow obstruction in non-smokers have been shown to have an increased prevalence of hypothyroidism and other organ specific ...autoimmune disorders. Whether patients with hypothyroidism have an increased prevalence of respiratory symptoms is unknown. Methods: The prevalence of respiratory symptoms was assessed in 124 patients with treated hypothyroidism recruited from primary and secondary care, 64 outpatients with inflammatory bowel disease, and 1346 control adults recruited randomly from the electoral register in a case-control study. Respiratory symptoms and smoking history were assessed by a respiratory symptom questionnaire. Results: After adjustment for age, sex and smoking, symptoms of breathlessness and sputum production were more prevalent in both patient populations than in controls (odds ratios for hypothyroidism and inflammatory bowel disease; breathlessness: 3.1 (95% CI 2.1 to 4.6) and 3.4 (95% CI 2.0 to 6.0), respectively; sputum production: 2.7 (95% CI 1.6 to 4.5) and 2.5 (95% CI 1.2 to 5.0), respectively). Cough during the day and night was significantly more prevalent in patients with hypothyroidism (1.8 (95% CI 1.2 to 2.9)) and approached significance in those with inflammatory bowel disease (1.8 (95% CI 1.0 to 3.4)). Wheeze and nocturnal cough were no more prevalent in either disease population than in controls. Conclusion: There is a significantly increased prevalence of respiratory symptoms in patients with hypothyroidism or inflammatory bowel disease compared with controls recruited from the general population. Further work is required to determine whether similar differences are seen in comparison with hospital based controls. These findings support the hypothesis that there is a link between autoimmune hypothyroidism and respiratory disease.
PDF
