0000000000102089
AUTHOR
Mitja Košnik
The global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the management and course of chronic urticaria
Introduction: the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically disrupts health care around the globe. The impact of the pandemic on chronic urticaria (CU) and its management are largely unknown. Aim: to understand how CU patients are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic; how specialists alter CU patient management; and the course of CU in patients with COVID-19. Materials and methods: our cross-sectional, international, questionnaire-based, multicenter UCARE COVID-CU study assessed the impact of the pandemic on patient consultations, remote treatment, changes in medications, and clinical consequences. Results: the COVID-19 pandemic severely impairs CU patient care, with less than 50% of the weekly numbers o…
Definition, aims, and implementation of GA [sup] 2 LEN/HAEi Angioedema Centers of Reference and Excellence
This document summarizes the aims of GA2 LEN/HAEi Angioedema Centers of Reference and Excellence (ACAREs) and elaborates the requirements that ACAREs must fulfill to become certified. It also provides (see Appendix S1) background information on GA2LEN and HAEi, including HAEi member organizations and regional patient advocates, on why we need an Angioedema Center of Reference and Excellence (ACARE) program and network, and on the accreditation and certification process, governance and funding, and on the interaction with other GA2LEN networks of centers of reference and excellence. The protocols, aims, requirements, and provisions related to becoming a certified CARE are based on (a) the ex…
Cabbage and fermented vegetables: from death rate heterogeneity in countries to candidates for mitigation strategies of severe COVID-19
International audience; Large differences in COVID-19 death rates exist between countries and between regions of the same country. Some very low death rate countries such as Eastern Asia, Central Europe, or the Balkans have a common feature of eating large quantities of fermented foods. Although biases exist when examining ecological studies, fermented vegetables or cabbage have been associated with low death rates in European countries. SARS-CoV-2 binds to its receptor, the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). As a result of SARS-CoV-2 binding, ACE2 downregulation enhances the angiotensin II receptor type 1 (AT1 R) axis associated with oxidative stress. This leads to insulin resistance …