Main description:

When I entered the field of allergy in the early 1970s, the standard textbook was a few hundred pages, and the specialty was so compact that texts were often authored entirely by a single individual and were never larger than one volume. Compare this with Allergy Frontiers: Epigenetics, Allergens, and Risk Factors, the present s- volume text with well over 150 contributors from throughout the world. This book captures the explosive growth of our specialty since the single-author textbooks referred to above. The unprecedented format of this work lies in its meticulous attention to detail yet comprehensive scope. For example, great detail is seen in manuscripts dealing with topics such as "Exosomes, naturally occurring minimal antigen presenting units" and "Neuropeptide S receptor 1 (NPSR1), an asthma susceptibility gene." The scope is exemplified by the unique approach to disease entities normally dealt with in a single chapter in most texts. For example, anaphylaxis, a topic usually confined to one chapter in most textbooks, is given five chapters in Allergy Frontiers. This approach allows the text to employ multiple contributors for a single topic, giving the reader the advantage of being introduced to more than one vi- point regarding a single disease.

Contents:

Therapy and Prevention of Allergies.- Allergen Avoidance and Prevention of Allergy.- Pharmacotherapy of Allergic Rhinitis.- Antihistamines in Rhinitis and Asthma.- Antiallergic and Vasoactive Drugs for Allergic Rhinitis.- Antileukotrienes in Asthma and Rhinitis.- Mechanisms of Action of ?2 Adrenoceptor Agonists.- Alkylxanthines and Phosphodiesterase 4 Inhibitors for Allergic Diseases.- Glucocorticoid Insensitive Asthma.- Recalcitrant Asthma.- Mechanisms and Management of Exercise-Induced Bronchoconstriction.- Use of Theophylline and Sodium Cromoglycate in Adult Asthma.- New Insights into Allergen-Specific Immunotherapy in Rhinitis and Asthma.- Sublingual Immunotherapy in Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma.- Anti-IgE in Allergic Airway Diseases: Indications and Applications.- Drug Delivery Devices and Propellants.- Update on the Management of Atopic Dermatitis/Eczema.- Immunosuppressants as Treatment for Atopic Dermatitis.- Management of Anaphylaxis.- Anaphylaxis: Are Regulatory T Cells the Target of Venom Immunotherapy?.- Food Allergy: Opportunities and Challenges in the Clinical Practice of Allergy and Immunology.- Early Immunological Influences on Asthma Development: Opportunities for Early Intervention.- Asthma and Allergy in Childhood: Prediction and Early Diagnosis.- Early Interventions in Allergic Diseases.- Birth Cohort Studies for the Prevention of Allergy: New Perspectives-Where Do We Go from Now?.- Novel Immunomodulatory Strategies for the Prevention of Atopy and Asthma.- Recombinant Allergens for Therapy and Prevention: Molecular Design and Delivery of Allergy Vaccines.- Prevention of Allergic Diseases.- Emerging Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Therapies Targeting Specific Mechanisms in Asthma and Allergy.- Special Considerations in Children, Elderly and Pregnancy.- Asthma and Rhinitis in Pregnancy.- Asthma in the Elderly.- The Natural History of Childhood Asthma.- The Wheezing Infant and Young Child.- Acute Severe Asthma in Children.- Best Estimates of Asthma Control in Children.- Risk-Benefit of Asthma Therapy in Children: Topical Corticosteroids.- Risk-Benefit of Asthma Therapy in Children: Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs.- The Role of Influenza Vaccination in Asthmatic Children.- Treatment of Infants with Atopic Dermatitis.- Diagnosing Food Allergy in Children.- Diagnosis and Treatment of Latex Allergy.- New Aspects of Peanut and Tree Nut Allergy.- Allergic Fungal Sinusitis: Controversy and Evolution of Understanding with Therapeutic Implications.- Immunomodulatory Role of Bacillus Calmette-Guerin in the Prevention and Therapy of Allergy and Asthma.- Use of Theophylline and Sodium Cromoglycate in Pediatric Asthma.- Antibody Deficiency Syndromes (Including Diagnosis and Treatment).