Seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR) is a pollen-triggered condition causing nasal inflammation and quality of life impairment. Pumecitinib, a topical Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor may modulate allergic inflammation. We evaluated the efficacy, safety, and pharmacokinetics of pumecitinib nasal spray administered over a 14-day period during the pollen season in patients with moderate-to-severe seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR).

Climate change is a global phenomenon with various impacts on human health, in many cases aggravating the effects of pollen allergies. Several studies show the effects of human-induced temperature rise and changes in meteorological patterns on pollen production and dispersion, causing earlier flowering onset, extended pollen seasons, and increased pollen production. The repercussions on human health concern both allergic asthma and rhinosinusitis, whose symptoms can be worsened by extended exposure and impacts of extreme meteorological events, such as thunderstorm asthma. In this context, traditional aerobiological monitoring techniques are still valid as staple methods, but with a rising importance of new, automatic real-time sensors and atmospheric pollen forecasting systems, which can be important for early warning and prevention, to reduce and avoid exposure to allergenic pollen during peak days and hours. Omics techniques can also give important information about sensitization and response to allergens, granting a more comprehensive picture of the effects of exposure to allergens. In this paper, we carried out a literature review to discuss all these effects, with a focus on innovative tools and preventive measures. As a result, the application of an integrated and multifactorial approach emerges as fundamental in the management of pollen-induced allergies in the context of climate change.

Recurrent spasmodic croup is uncommon in school-aged children and may reflect an atopy-associated upper-airway dysfunction rather than a viral illness. We reported a 14-year-old boy with perennial allergic rhinitis and cough-predominant asthma who experienced 10 early-morning episodes of barking cough and inspiratory stridor between 2020 and 2024. Despite the long-term prescription of inhaled corticosteroid therapy, seasonal discontinuation and inconsistent adherence were evident, and recurrent episodes persisted. After referral, integrated management including stepwise allergic-rhinitis treatment and re-education promoting year-round adherence was implemented. Although the direct impact of these interventions on episode recurrence could not be determined, cough symptoms improved and asthma control stabilized despite persistently elevated fractional nitric oxide (~60 ppb). Integrated upper- and lower-airway management and adherence optimization may help stabilize cough-predominant symptoms in atopic children.

Coccidioidomycosis (Valley fever) is a growing public health concern in the western U.S., with California reporting more than an eightfold rise in cases over the past two decades. As climate change, groundwater regulation, and prolonged drought drive major agricultural land-use shifts in the state, including widespread retirement of cultivated lands (i.e., fallowing), understanding their effects on this soil-borne fungal infection is critical. We linked 65,657 confirmed, geolocated cases (2008-2021) to high-resolution maps distinguishing natural vegetation, crop types, and fallowed fields to quantify how land use and land cover were associated with disease rates. Flexible statistical models showed that natural land covers, shrubland, barren ground, and grassland, were associated with higher incidence. Some agricultural uses (grain/hay, field crops, corn, and cotton) were associated with higher incidence, whereas others (orchards, rice, and truck crops/berries) were associated with lower incidence. Recently fallowed land (1 to 4 years) was linked to higher incidence, but the effect depended on prior cultivation. These findings indicate that land use changes may inadvertently impact coccidioidomycosis risk, underscoring the need for dust control and other measures to protect communities.

Background/Objectives: Amb a 1 is the major allergenic component of Ambrosia artemisiifolia pollen and a clinically relevant marker of genuine ragweed sensitization. Heart failure is increasingly recognized as a systemic syndrome shaped by immune activation, endothelial dysfunction, fibrosis, neurohormonal imbalance, pulmonary comorbidity, and environmental exposures. This narrative review aims to synthesize the translational evidence linking Amb a 1-specific IgE, IgE-mediated inflammation, allergic airway disease, and cardiovascular remodeling in heart failure. Methods: A targeted narrative review was performed, integrating evidence on component-resolved ragweed diagnosis, IgE-FcεRI signaling, mast cell and eosinophil biology, pollen exposure, cardiovascular inflammation, and heart failure pathophysiology. Results: No dedicated clinical studies have validated Amb a 1-specific IgE as a diagnostic, prognostic, or therapeutic biomarker in heart failure. However, adjacent evidence supports biologically plausible links between allergen-specific IgE responses and cardiovascular dysfunction, including mast cell activation, cytokine release, endothelial perturbation, oxidative stress, microvascular dysfunction, pulmonary-cardiac interaction, and myocardial fibrosis. Amb a 1-specific IgE may therefore identify a seasonally vulnerable heart failure phenotype, particularly in patients with allergic rhinitis, asthma, eosinophilic inflammation, or recurrent symptom worsening during ragweed season. A systemic/indirect pathway operating through allergic airway disease is distinguished from a postulated direct cardiac pathway; the latter remains strictly speculative, as no direct evidence demonstrates that inhaled Amb a 1 reaches or activates cardiac mast cells in vivo. Conclusions: Amb a 1-specific IgE should not currently be used to infer cardiac causality or modify heart failure therapy. Prospective, phenotype-rich, exposure-informed studies are needed to determine whether ragweed sensitization has clinically meaningful implications for heart failure endotyping, seasonal risk assessment, and cardio-allergology care. These findings may inform patient-centered heart failure management by improving the interpretation of seasonal dyspnea, allergic comorbidity, and symptom fluctuations in ragweed-endemic regions.