Host: Matt Birnholz, MD Guest: Kevin Fussell, MD Up to one in 10 patients with asthma have severe disease, and of those patients, up to 1.3 million have severe uncontrolled asthma.1-3 Since severe asthma has been associated with reduced lung function and poor outcomes.4,5 Dr Kevin Fussell is here to talk about how a treatment option may help patients with severe eosinophilic asthma as well as how we can use telemedicine to help manage and diagnose them. Chung KF, Wenzel SE, Brozek JL, et al. International ERS/ATS guidelines on definition, evaluation and treatment of severe asthma. Eur Respir J. 2014;43(2):343-373. Hankin CS, Bronstone A, Wang Z, Small MB, Buck P. Estimated prevalence and economic burden of severe, uncontrolled asthma in the United States. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2013;131(2):AB126. Global Initiative for Asthma. Global strategy for asthma management and prevention. Updated 2020. Available from: https://ginasthma.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/GINA-2020-report_20_06_04-1-wms.pdf. Accessed August 22, 2020. Newby C, Agbetile J, Hargadon, B, et al. Lung function decline and variable airway inflammatory pattern: longitudinal analysis of severe asthma. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2014;134(2):287-294. Global Initiative for Asthma. Difficult-to-treat and severe asthma in adolescent and adult patients 2019. Available from:https://ginasthma.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/GINA-Severe-asthma-Pocket-Guide-v2.0-wms-1.pdf. Accessed November 1, 2020. ©2020 AstraZeneca. All rights reserved. US-34513 Last Updated 11/20 ...

Host: Linda Bernstein, Pharm.D. Allergic reactions to peanut are unpredictable in occurrence and in how they present, with some individuals experiencing severe reactions from even trace amounts. Fortunately, there’s now an FDA-approved treatment option available that—when used in conjunction with peanut avoidance—can help reduce the risk of these allergic reactions in children with peanut allergy, as pharmacist Dr. Linda Bernstein explains.

Host: Jennifer Caudle, DO Guest: Maria Pasioti Food allergy trials help us stay on the cutting edge by studying the latest treatment advances, but are we consistent in the terminology we use and even in the way we apply these findings to clinical practice? To find out, Dr. Jennifer Caudle welcomes Dr. Maria Pasioti, who discusses the design, endpoints, and real-world implications of food allergy trials.

Guest: Maria Pasioti Here to give us a glimpse into the prevalence and impact of IgE-mediated food allergies in the EU is Dr. Maria Pasioti, an allergist at Laiko Hospital in Athens, Greece.

Guest: Brian P. Vickery, MD To help address some common concerns, a recent study from the PALISADE group of clinical investigators looked at the safety and efficacy of peanut oral immunotherapy. So what exactly did the study find? Here to review the trial’s promising results is Dr. Brian Vickery. In addition to being the lead author of the study, he’s also an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Food Allergy Center of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Emory University.

Host: Amy Mackey, MD Guest: Brian P. Vickery, MD In an effort to help physicians provide better care for those patients at risk of unpredictable—and potentially life-threatening—allergic reactions, the PALISADE group of clinical investigators explored oral immunotherapy as a potential treatment. Joining Dr. Amy Mackey to review these findings is the study’s lead author, Dr. Brian Vackey. He’s also an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Food Allergy Center of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Emory University.

Host: Amy Mackey, MD Guest: Ruchi Gupta, MD, MPH Before we are able to improve how we address, research, and treat food allergies, we must first better understand the true prevalence and severity of this health threat. To help close this knowledge gap, Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine Dr. Ruchi Gupta reveals key findings from The Public Health Impact of Parent-Reported Childhood Food Allergies in the United States study.

Guest: Ruchi Gupta, MD, MPH Despite the increasing prevalence of food allergies in children nationwide, accurate and comprehensive statistics regarding its impacts didn’t exist, which is exactly why The Public Health Impact of Parent-Reported Childhood Food Allergies in the United States study was conducted. Here to walk us through its findings is Dr. Ruchi Gupta, Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and lead author of the study.

Host: John J. Russell, MD Do pets help prevent allergies? Does the 5-second rule actually exist? And is dirt really good for a child’s immune system? Host Dr. John Russell talks with Jack Gilbert, Ph.D., Professor of Surgery at the University of Chicago and Director of the Microbiome Institute. Dr. Gilbert is author of the book Dirt is Good, answering questions about the potential benefits of exposure to germs and bacteria. He and Dr. Russell sift through common misconceptions about microbiomes to better understand their actual risks and benefits for the body's immune system, explaining its role in disease and health.

Host: Brian P. McDonough, MD, FAAFP Allergies occur when your immune system mistakes a normally harmless allergen for a dangerous invader and moves to destroy it, producing an allergic reaction. What exactly causes this response, and what are the best treatments to combat it? Host Brian McDonough chats with Dr. Avery August, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at Cornell’s College of Veterinary Medicine, about his research regarding how allergens affect the immune system.