Susanne Lau

Susanne Lau
Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin | Charité · Department of Pediatrics, Division of Respiratory Medicine Immunology and Critical Care Medicine

Professor Doctor

About

412
Publications
87,101
Reads
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26,812
Citations
Additional affiliations
January 2020 - August 2021
Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Position
  • Deputy Head
December 1986 - February 2016
Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Position
  • Consultant

Publications

Publications (412)
Preprint
Full-text available
Background Environmental factors play a role in the pathogenesis of complex traits including atopic eczema (AE) and a greater understanding of gene-environment interactions (G*E) is needed to define pathomechanisms for disease prevention. We analysed data from 16 European studies to test for interaction between the 24 most significant AE-associated...
Article
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Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) characterised by type 2 inflammation, including asthma, allergic rhinitis, chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, atopic dermatitis, food allergies and eosinophilic esophagitis, are increasing in prevalence worldwide. Currently, there is a major paradigm shift in the management of these diseases, towards the conc...
Article
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The extension of the approval of dupilumab for the treatment of severe atopic dermatitis in children 6 months of age and older in Germany creates a potential conflict with the administration of live attenuated vaccines. According to the product information, the administration of live attenuated vaccines is contraindicated during ongoing dupilumab t...
Article
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The European Forum for Research and Education in Allergy and Airways diseases (EUFOREA) organized the first European Biologic Training Course (EBTC) in Brussels on 1st March 2024. The aim of this hybrid EBTC including both face-to-face and web-based participation was to address the educational needs of physicians dealing with asthma and Chronic Rhi...
Article
Immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated food allergies are the most common type of food allergy, often causing rapid symptoms after exposure to allergens posing a serious health risk and a high impact on patient's and caregiver's quality of life. Omalizumab, a humanized anti-IgE monoclonal antibody, reduces allergic reactions by binding to circulating IgE....
Article
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Immunoglobulin E (IgE)‐mediated food allergies are the most common type of food allergy, often causing rapid symptoms after exposure to allergens posing a serious health risk and a high impact on patient's and caregiver's quality of life. Omalizumab, a humanized anti‐IgE monoclonal antibody, reduces allergic reactions by binding to circulating IgE....
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This European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) guideline provides recommendations for the management of IgE‐mediated food allergy and was developed using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) approach. Following the confirmation of IgE‐mediated food allergy diagnosis, allergen avoidance an...
Article
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Monitoring is a major component of asthma management in children. Regular monitoring allows for diagnosis confirmation, treatment optimization, and natural history review. Numerous factors that may affect disease activity and patient well‐being need to be monitored: response and adherence to treatment, disease control, disease progression, comorbid...
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Background Children with sensitization against foods have to be orally food-challenged before eating these foods for the first time. However, the waiting time for an oral food challenge (OFC) in Germany is about 3–6 months. In contrast, there are hints that an early introduction of allergenic foods might be protective regarding the development of f...
Preprint
Monitoring is a major component of asthma management in children. Regular monitoring allows for diagnosis confirmation, treatment optimization and natural history review. Numerous factors that may affect disease activity and patient wellbeing need to be monitored: response and adherence to treatment, disease control, disease progression, comorbidit...
Article
Full-text available
Background IgE antibodies to cross‐reactive carbohydrate determinants (CCD) are usually clinically irrelevant but they can be a cause of false positive outcomes of allergen‐specific IgE tests in vitro. Their prevalence and levels have been so far cross‐sectionally examined among adult allergic patients and much less is known about their origins and...
Article
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This European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology guideline provides recommendations for diagnosing IgE‐mediated food allergy and was developed using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) approach. Food allergy diagnosis starts with an allergy‐focused clinical history followed by tests to determine I...
Article
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Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common inflammatory skin condition and prior genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified 71 associated loci. In the current study we conducted the largest AD GWAS to date (discovery N = 1,086,394, replication N = 3,604,027), combining previously reported cohorts with additional available data. We identified 81...
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Introduction The integrated care pathways for atopic dermatitis (AD‐ICPs) aim to bridge the gap between existing AD treatment evidence‐based guidelines and expert opinion based on daily practice by offering a structured multidisciplinary plan for patient management of AD. ICPs have the potential to enhance guideline recommendations by combining int...
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In March 2023, the European Forum for Research and Education in Allergy and Airways diseases (EUFOREA) organized its bi-annual Summit in Brussels with expert panel members of EUFOREA, representatives of the EUFOREA patient advisory board, and the EUFOREA board and management teams. Its aim was to define the research, educational and advocacy initia...
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“Epidemiology of comorbidities and their association with asthma control” (Tomisa, G., Horváth, A., Sánta, B. et al. Epidemiology of comorbidities and their association with asthma control. Allergy Asthma Clin Immunol 17, 95 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13223-021-00598-3 ) is an interesting paper reflecting data collection from more than 12,000...
Article
Vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) is a severe ocular allergic disease characterized by chronic inflammation of the cornea and conjunctiva that may lead to loss of visual acuity and blindness. The disease occurs primarily in children and is more common in geographical regions characterized by warm temperatures and high humidity. The clinical manifes...
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This is the first case report on two children presenting with immediate and severe hemolytic anemia following the administration of high-dose intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIGs) in the context of pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome temporally associated with SARS-CoV-2 (PIMS-TS). Hemolytic anemia was described as a significant decrease in h...
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Asthma, rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis (AD) are interrelated clinical phenotypes that partly overlap in the human interactome. The concept of “one‐airway‐one‐disease,” coined over 20 years ago, is a simplistic approach of the links between upper‐ and lower‐airway allergic diseases. With new data, it is time to reassess the concept. This article re...
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Background No results of controlled trials are available for any of the few treatments offered to children with interstitial lung diseases (chILD). We evaluated hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) in a phase 2, prospective, multicentre, 1:1-randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group/crossover trial. HCQ (START arm) or placebo were given for...
Article
Background: It has been reported that sometimes children fall asleep and can barely be woken up during allergic reactions upon food ingestion. Nevertheless, to date there is scarce data on narcolepsy-like sleepiness as a symptom of allergic reactions. Objective: We investigated the frequency of narcolepsy-like sleepiness during oral food challen...
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Background In vitro immunoglobulin E (IgE) tests can be better standardized if based on molecules rather than extracts. However, singleplex screening tests for respiratory or food allergies are still based on extracts only. Target To validate a novel singleplex IgE screening test for respiratory allergies, based on a mix of major allergenic molecu...
Preprint
Full-text available
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common inflammatory skin condition and prior genome-wide association studies have identified 71 associated loci. In the current study we conducted the largest AD GWAS to date (discovery N=1,086,394, replication N=3,604,027), combining previously reported cohorts with additional available data. We identified 81 loci (29 n...
Article
Full-text available
Background: Peanut allergy is a frequent cause of food allergy and potentially life-threatening. Within this interdisciplinary research approach, we aim to unravel the complex mechanisms of peanut allergy. As a first step were applied in an exploratory manner the analysis of peanut allergic versus non-allergic controls. Methods: Biosamples were...
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Food allergy affects approximately 2–4% of children and adults. This guideline provides recommendations for managing food allergy from the Global Allergy and Asthma European Network (GA2LEN). A multidisciplinary international Task Force developed the guideline using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE) II framework and th...
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The present guideline on allergen immunotherapy (AIT) was prepared on behalf of and financed by the German Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (DGAKI) and replaces the S2 guideline published in 2014. It has been devised as an S2k guideline in accordance with the standardized procedures of the German “Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Wissenschaftliche...
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Background The Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus molecule Der p 23 is a major allergen whose clinical relevance has been shown in cross‐sectional studies. We longitudinally analysed the trajectory of Der p 23‐specific IgE antibody (sIgE) levels throughout childhood and youth, their early‐life determinants and their clinical relevance for allergic rhin...
Article
Background: A genetic defect in the epidermal barrier protein filaggrin (FLG) plays a major role in the etiology of eczema and associated allergic airways diseases. However, it is still controversial to what extend loss-of-function (LOF) mutations in FLG contribute to the development and persistence of food allergies. Objectives: This study test...
Article
Starting in 2010, an extended criteria catalog was developed for the allergy centers based on the Comprehensive Cancer Centers, including the already known GA²LEN criteria. As part of this initiative, the Charité was the first center to be certified in 2014. Recertification took place in 2018 and 2020. The CACC currently includes the following cent...
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Background Early-life respiratory tract infections might affect chronic obstructive respiratory diseases, but conclusive studies from general populations are lacking. Objective To examine if children with early-life respiratory tract infections had increased risks of lower lung function and asthma at school-age. Methods We used individual-partici...
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In order to summarize recent research on the prevention of allergies—particularly asthma—and stimulate new activities for future initiatives, a virtual workshop sponsored by the EAACI Clemens von Pirquet foundation and EUFOREA was held in October 2021. The determinants of the “allergic march” as well as the key messages from intervention studies we...
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Background Peanuts (PN) and tree nuts (TN) are among the most frequent elicitors of food allergy and can lead to life-threatening reactions. The current advice for allergic patients is to strictly avoid the offending food independently of their individual threshold level, whereas sensitized patients without allergic symptoms should frequently consu...
Article
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Background Up to 8% of all children in industrialized countries suffer from food allergies, whereas children with atopic eczema are affected considerably more frequently. In addition, the type and starting time of weaning foods seem to influence the development of food allergies. However, data from interventional studies on weaning are controversia...
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Background: The persistently high prevalence of allergic diseases in Western industrial nations and the limited possibilities of causal therapy make evidence-based recommendations for primary prevention necessary. Methods: The recommendations of the S3 guideline Allergy Prevention, published in its last version in 2014, were revised and consulte...
Article
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Background There is substantial interest in immunotherapy and biologicals in IgE‐mediated food allergy. Methods We searched six databases for randomized controlled trials about immunotherapy alone or with biologicals (to April 2021) or biological monotherapy (to September 2021) in food allergy confirmed by oral food challenge. We pooled the data u...
Article
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Background Food anaphylaxis is commonly elicited by unintentional ingestion of foods containing the allergen above the tolerance threshold level of the individual. While labeling the 14 main allergens used as ingredients in food products is mandatory in the EU, there is no legal definition of declaring potential contaminants. Precautionary allergen...
Article
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Previous genome-wide association studies revealed multiple common variants involved in eczema but the role of rare variants remains to be elucidated. Here, we investigate the role of rare variants in eczema susceptibility. We meta-analyze 21 study populations including 20,016 eczema cases and 380,433 controls. Rare variants are imputed with high ac...
Preprint
Background There is substantial interest in allergen-specific immunotherapy in food allergy. We systematically reviewed its efficacy and safety. Methods We searched six bibliographic databases from 1946 to 30 April 2021 for randomised controlled trials about immunotherapy alone or with biologicals in IgE-mediated food allergy confirmed by oral food...
Article
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Background Although well described in adults, there are scarce and heterogeneous data on the diagnosis and management of chronic urticaria (CU) in children (0–18 years) throughout Europe. Our aim was to explore country differences and identify the extent to which the EAACI/GA²LEN/EDF/WAO guideline recommendations for pediatric urticaria are impleme...
Preprint
Background: Although well described in adults, there are scarce and heterogeneous data on the diagnosis and management of chronic urticaria (CU) in children (0-18 years) throughout Europe. Our aim was to explore country differences and identify the extent to which the EAACI/GA²LEN/EDF/WAO guideline recommendations for paediatric urticaria are imple...
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Background: Pulmonary invasive aspergillosis is a frequent and life-threatening complication for patients with chronic granulomatous disease (CGD). Despite combined treatment with several groups of antifungal agents, conservative treatment of invasive aspergillosis often remains refractory. Pulmonary invasive aspergillosis is often treated by surg...
Article
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Allergen immunotherapy (AIT), the gradually increasing repeated administration of high doses of allergens to allergic patients, offers the potential for immune tolerance against reactions to the natural exposures to specific allergens. AIT may lead to the long-lasting remission of allergic symptoms and is the only disease-modifying intervention in...
Chapter
Allergien und Asthma bronchiale sind entzündliche Erkrankungen, die in den letzten 50 Jahren drastisch in westlichen Industrienationen zugenommen haben. Sie gehören zu den häufigsten chronischen Erkrankungen im Kindes- und Jugendalter und verlaufen sehr unterschiedlich hinsichtlich Remission und Schweregrad. Allergien sind meist sog. IgE-vermittelt...
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There are large between- and within-country variations in COVID-19 death rates. Some very low death rate settings such as Eastern Asia, Central Europe, the Balkans and Africa have a common feature of eating large quantities of fermented foods whose intake is associated with the activation of the Nrf2 (Nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2) an...
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An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.
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Background Parents of school-age children with food allergies and potential anaphylactic reactions want their children to have an unburdened and risk-free everyday school life. Thus, particularly in the case of peanut allergy, demands for peanut-free schools are put forward. Results and discussion The position paper of the food allergy working gro...
Article
Background: It is unclear whether asthma may affect susceptibility or severity of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in children and how pediatric asthma services worldwide have responded to the pandemic. Objective: To describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on pediatric asthma services and on disease burden in their patients. Methods: An...
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Reported COVID-19 deaths in Germany are relatively low as compared to many European countries. Among the several explanations proposed, an early and large testing of the population was put forward. Most current debates on COVID-19 focus on the differences among countries, but little attention has been given to regional differences and diet. The low...
Article
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Background Vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) is a rare, recurrent form of ocular allergy that can be refractory to topical and systemic treatment. It typically presents as acute and chronic keratoconjunctival inflammation that may lead to visual impairment due to corneal ulcers and scaring. Patients often suffer from atopic IgE-driven comorbidities...
Article
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Background Acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) may cause difficult-to-treat symptoms of the airways, skin, or gastrointestinal tract in hypersensitive patients. Due to the chemical relationship between salicylic acid and ASA, a role of a low-salicylate diet has been discussed. Methods This review evaluates whether low salicylate diets are meaningful from a...
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Background The allergy preventive effects of gut immune modulation by bacterial compounds are still not fully understood. Objective We sought to evaluate the effect of bacterial lysate applied orally from the second until seventh months of life on the prevalence of allergic diseases at school age. Methods In a randomized, placebo‐controlled trial...