Childhood Diseases Can Be Good For Your Child!

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Measles Cures Psoriasis!

A 6-year-old girl suffering from severe psoriasis had been treated unsuccessfully by various conventional methods. She developed measles and, on recovery from measles, the psoriasis soon cleared up and now, 6 months later, she still has had no further recurrence. The basic defect in psoriasis, basal cell hyperplasia and defective keratinization, may well be immunologically mediated. Measles virus, by its immunosuppressive effect can lead to remission of psoriasis.

Source: Chakravarti VS, Lingam S. Measles induced remission of psoriasis. Ann Trop Paediatr. 1986 Dec;6(4):293-4.

Kids Who Have Measles Have Less Allergies!

OBJECTIVE: Viral and bacterial infections in childhood decrease the likelihood of allergic diseases in later life. The frequency of allergic diseases in patients with a history of measles has been reported to be low but some studies still suggest that measles can increase the frequency of allergic diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of allergic diseases following measles in childhood. METHODS: Fifty-two children hospitalized in our clinic with measles were compared with 51 children without measles. Allergic diseases were investigated in both groups by using the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire. In all children, allergy skin tests were performed with the four most common allergens. RESULTS: Sensitivity to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus was less frequent in children with measles than in those without (p < 0.05). A history of nebulized salbutamol use in the emergency room in the previous 12 months was also less frequent in the measles group (p < 0.05). Inhaled corticosteroid use was more common in the group without measles (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that findings of allergic disease are less frequent in children with a history of measles. These children were less sensitive to D. pteronyssinus.

Allergol Immunopathol (Madr). 2006 Jul-Aug;34(4):146-9.

Measles Stops Allergy To Dust Mite!

BACKGROUND: Epidemiological studies have led to speculation that infections in early childhood may prevent allergic sensitisation but evidence to support this hypothesis is lacking. We investigated whether measles infection protects against the development of atopy in children of Guinea-Bissau, West Africa. METHODS: We conducted a historical cohort study in Bandim, a semi-rural district of Bissau, the capital of Guinea-Bissau. 395 young adults, first surveyed in 1978-80 aged 0-6 years, were followed up in 1994. Our analyses were restricted to 262 individuals still living in Bandim for whom a measles history, documented in childhood, was judged to be reliable. We defined atopy as skin-prick test positivity (> or = 3 mm weal) to one or more of seven allergens. FINDINGS: 17 (12.8 percent) of 133 participants who had had measles infection were atopic compared with 33 (25.6 percent) of 129 of those who had been vaccinated and not had measles (odds ratio, adjusted for potential confounding variables 0.36 [95 percent CI 0.17-0.78], p=O.O1). Participants who had been breastfed for more than a year were less likely to have a positive skin test to housedust mite. After adjustment for breastfeeding and other variables, measles infection was associated with a large reduction in the risk of skin-prick test positivity to housedust mite (odds ratio for Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus 0.20 [0.05-0.81], p=0.02; D farinae 0.20 [0.06-0.71], p=0.01). INTERPRETATION: Measles infection may prevent the development of atopy in African children.

Measles and atopy in Guinea-Bissau. Lancet. 1996 Jun 29;347(9018):1792-6.

Rotavirus, Measles and Mumps Stops Seizure Disorders!

In general, epileptic seizures become more serious following infections. However, transient and permanent improvement of epileptic seizures has been observed following acute viral infections, without a recent change in anti-epileptic therapy. Questionnaires were sent to 73 institutions, throughout Japan, where pediatric neurologists care for children with epilepsy to characterize this phenomenon through clinician survey. Completed surveys were received from 11 institutions, and 21 cases were selected for the study. The age of the patients were 6 months to 17 years. The West syndrome or epilepsy subsequent to West syndrome cases were 16 out of 21. Two cases of symptomatic generalized epilepsy and one case each of symptomatic partial epilepsy, continuous spike-waves of slow sleep and severe myoclonic epilepsy in infancy were also reported. These seizures disappeared within 2 weeks subsequent to viral infections such as, exanthema subitum, rotavirus colitis, measles and mumps. The disappearance of intractable epileptic seizures following acute viral infections might be related to the inflammatory processes or the increased levels of antibodies after viral infections.

Hitoshi Yamamoto, et al. Spontaneous improvement of intractable epileptic seizures following acute viral infections. Brain and Development
Volume 26, Issue 6, September 2004, Pages 377-379.

Rotavirus Infection Protects Against Multiple Serotypes of Infection!

Epidemiologic studies have demonstrated that children who acquire natural rotavirus infections develop immunity to subsequent infections, with the protective effect increasing with each natural infection. Natural infections also decrease the severity of any subsequent rotavirus infections. Notably, asymptomatic infections provide protection similar to that induced by symptomatic infections. Data also suggest that the antibody response to natural infection is heterotypic, and therefore may provide protection against multiple serotypes.

(The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal:Volume 28(3) SupplementMarch 2009pp S54-S56).

Infections Inhibit Auto-immune Diseases!

Summary: The incidence of some autoimmune diseases has increased dramatically in recent years in the developed world. Many autoimmune diseases are governed by both genetic and environmental factors. Our immune system has coevolved with infectious agents. There have been marked changes in the exposure to certain infectious agents over the last 70 years. It has been proposed that certain infections of historical importance might inhibit the development of autoimmune disorder. This review highlights studies addressing the ways in which infectious agents might inhibit onset of autoimmunity, and how this might lead to the development of novel therapeutic approaches.

Source: Current Opinion in Rheumatology:
July 2009 - Volume 21 - Issue 4 - p 391-396