Advances and highlights in allergic rhinitis.

Area of Science:

• Immunology
• Environmental Health
• Public Health

Background:

• Allergic rhinitis (AR) presents a significant and increasing global health, medical, and economic burden.
• Recent research highlights environmental exposures, climate change, and lifestyle as key risk factors for AR prevalence.
• The COVID-19 pandemic necessitates adaptations in managing AR patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review major discoveries in allergic rhinitis over the past two years.
• To explore risk factors, diagnostic strategies, immunological mechanisms, and therapies for AR.
• To identify future research perspectives in AR management.

Main Methods:

• Review of recent scientific literature on allergic rhinitis.
• Analysis of risk factors, diagnostic approaches, and immunological underpinnings of AR.
• Evaluation of current and future therapeutic strategies for AR, considering the COVID-19 context.

Main Results:

• Environmental exposures, climate change, and lifestyle are significant risk factors for AR.
• A new phenotype, dual AR, highlights the importance of local inflammation assessment for precise diagnosis.
• Combined local and traditional diagnostic methods may improve precision medicine approaches for AR.
• Management of AR during the COVID-19 pandemic requires traditional treatments alongside public health measures like social distancing and hygiene.
• Further research is needed to understand cell profile changes post-allergen immunotherapy (AIT) and to accurately evaluate its efficacy.

Conclusions:

• Understanding the exposome is crucial for developing better risk profiles and mitigating allergic diseases.
• Precision diagnosis, potentially incorporating local inflammation measurement, is key for advancing AR management.
• Adapting AR care during the COVID-19 pandemic requires integrating public health guidelines with established treatments.
• Continued research into the immunological mechanisms and efficacy evaluation of allergen immunotherapy is essential.