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Biomedical subjects

G Liccardi

Publications and source records attributed to G Liccardi.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Oleaceae pollinosis: a review.

In the Oleaceae family, the most allergenic pollen is produced by Olea europaea, the olive tree, which in the Mediterranean area has been recognized as one of the most important cause of seasonal respiratory allergy. The olive pollination season lasts from May to the end of June and sometimes causes severe symptoms (oculorhinitis and/or bronchial asthma). Olive pollinosis is quite rare in the form of monosensitization. Although adults are affected the most, olive sensitization can be recognized in children, too. However, it is not easy to be sure about the clinical relevance of allergic sensitization to olive, even in patients with positivity to this pollen, as results from allergological tests in vivo and/or in vitro, because positivity to Olea pollen is not equivalent to clinical responsibility, above all in patients without seasonal respiratory symptomatology. Studies on the allergenic content of O. europaea pollen are currently in progress. In Northern and Central Europe, where there are no olive trees, there are two commonly occurring genera of the Oleaceae family, namely Fraxinus and Ligustrum, but these have a low frequency of allergic sensitization. A fourth anemophilous member of the Oleaceae, Phillyrea, has a more regional distribution in some parts of the Mediterranean. Other nonanemophilous and usually not allergenic Oleaceae genera are Forsythia, Jasminum and Syringa.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed1996

[Allergic rhinitis due to cockroach antigenic components. An emerging pathology?].

The aim of our study was the evaluation of the role of these insects as causative agents of perennial rhinitis. We studied 317 subjects of both sexes (175 F and 142 M) living in Naples area and examined consecutively in our Centre for perennial nasal symptoms of suspected IgE mediated aetiology. All patients underwent the following diagnostic procedures: anamnestic procedures by using an internal questionnaire, clinical examination, skin prick test by using commercially available allergenic extracts and an allergenic extract containing the whole bodies of Blattella germanica and orientalis, Periplaneta americana. Blood samples for specific IgE determinations and a rhinologic visit were also carried out in patients with cockroach skin Prick test positivity. 14 of 317 subjects, prevalently young males, presented a skin positivity to cockroach allergens. All patients showed a moderate low degree of cutaneous and a low degree of serologic sensitization to allergens of these insects. Our preliminary data seem to demonstrate a mild role of cockroaches as causative agents of perennial rhinitis in Naples area. Further studies are necessary for a more appropriate knowledge of this allergy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of local nasal immunotherapy in allergic rhinitis to Parietaria pollen.

We assessed the efficacy and safety of local nasal immunotherapy (LNIT) using an extract in macronized powder form of Parietaria pollen, a very important allergenic plant in the Mediterranean and other parts of the world. Twenty-six patients aged 13-37 years, with seasonal allergic rhinitis to this pollen, were enrolled in a double-blind placebo-controlled trial, carried out from autumn 1991 to the end of June 1992. They were selected on the basis of a positive skin-prick test, radioallergosorbent test (RAST) and intranasal challenge to Parietaria antigen. Patients were randomly divided into two groups of 13; the first group was given Parietaria antigen, and the second placebo. We recorded mean weekly symptom scores and drug consumption for 17 weeks during the pollen season in the year 1992, and specific serum-IgE and IgG levels. Three patients in the active group withdrew from the study because of bronchial symptoms. A significant difference was observed in mean weekly nasal symptom scores, in drug consumption and in specific nasal threshold to Parietaria allergenic extract in the treated and control groups. No difference was observed in serum IgE and IgG levels. Serum IgE levels rose significantly only in the control group after the pollen season. This study indicates that LNIT may be a useful alternative to traditional subcutaneous immunotherapy in patients with allergic rhinitis.

Administration, Intranasal↗
PubMed1995

Immunotherapy with Alpare in patients with respiratory allergy to Parietaria pollen: a two year double-blind placebo-controlled study.

Allergy to Parietaria judaica pollen causes significant morbidity in many areas of the world. In addition to rhinitis, patients who are allergic to this pollen have a high incidence of asthma. The pollinating season is long, making this particular allergy challenging for clinicians to treat. This study was designed to determine if immunotherapy with an alum adsorbed partially purified Parietaria extract (Alpare Parietaria) containing a targeted maintenance dose of 12,500 BUs was effective in decreasing rhinitis symptoms in patients allergic to Parietaria. Using a double-blind placebo-controlled technique 36 patients received placebo or active extract for 2 years. Twenty (11 placebo and nine active) completed the 2 year study. Efficacy of treatment was evaluated by determining changes in skin reactivity, visual analog scores, diary symptom scores and end of study assessments. Reactions were monitored as well. Skin-test suppression was marginally significant in the actively treated group after 1 year and showed even more significant suppression after the second year. Nasal block, rhinorrhoea and sneezing all were significantly decreased in the active group. The nasal provocation test did not show a significant change after 1 year, in either group, but after 2 years of treatment the active group did show significant improvement. Although almost all patients in the actively treated group experienced local reactions, the incidence of systemic reactions was not different between the two groups. In conclusion, immunotherapy with this extract at this dose was effective in ameliorated rhinitis symptoms in patients allergic to Parietaria judaica.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Effect of telenzepine, an M1-selective muscarinic receptor antagonist, in patients with nocturnal asthma.

Muscarinic M1-receptor antagonists can prevent the induction of a long-lasting excitatory postsynaptic potential in autonomic ganglia. As the prolonged occupation of M1-receptors is a possible protective mechanism against vagal overstimulation, M1-antagonists might prove to be effective in preventing nocturnal wheeze. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether telenzepine, an M1-selective muscarinic receptor antagonist, administered orally at different doses (1.5 mg, 3 mg, 5 mg) for one week, reduced airway obstruction in patients with nocturnal asthma in comparison with placebo. Peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) difference between each study medication (arithmetic means from values on days 4, 5 and 6) and baseline at 6 a.m. and at midnight on day 5 did not differ significantly. Treatment with placebo nocte (at night, 9 p.m.), or telenzepine 1.5 mg nocte, telenzepine 3 mg nocte and telenzepine 5 mg nocte did not affect significantly the 24-h time course of PEFR. The results of this study indicate that the use of telenzepine via the oral route at a dose of up to 5 mg is not effective in preventing nocturnal asthma.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1994

Detection of Parietaria judaica airborne allergenic activity: comparison between immunochemical and morphological methods including clinical evaluation.

Airborne pollen grains and small plant particles of respirable size are the main causes of rhinitis and asthma in pollinosis patients. Consequently, it could be useful to quantify atmospheric variations in these biological aerosols and their allergenic activity as a basis for establishing correlations with the clinical symptoms in these allergic subjects. Our study was conducted in Naples from May to August 1992 and from May to August 1993 and concentrated on Parietaria judaica (Par j) the most important hay fever-provoking plant in southern Italy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the day-to-day variation in counts of Par j. pollen, the day-to-day variation in allergenic activity specific for this plant, and to relate these two variables to symptom scores in patients with respiratory allergy to Par j. The airborne pollen grains were collected by a Hirst-like volumetric trap and examined through an optical microscope, while the allergenic activity of particles trapped on glass fibre filters in a high volume air-sampler was determined by immunochemical assay. The two devices were placed on the flat roof of the 'A. Cardarelli' Hospital. The results of this preliminary study suggest that both methods could have useful clinical relevance, since these two biological parameters were significantly correlated with the symptom scores of allergic patients. However, pollen count with morphological quantification of grains/m3 of air is a more simple technique.

Allergens↗
PubMed1994

Environment and development of respiratory allergy: I. Outdoors.

Respiratory allergic diseases appear to be increasing in most countries. In particular, asthma morbidity and mortality have been reported to be increasing despite the availability of effective asthma medications. It has been also observed that subjects living in urban and industrialized areas are more likely to have respiratory allergic symptoms than those living in rural areas. This increase has been linked to air pollution, rather than to a modification of the genome of the patient. The interplay of genetic and environmental factors in the development of allergic disorders remains a subject of investigation. In the outdoor environment, the most important air pollutants are sulphur dioxide, ozone and particulate matter, in particular diesel exhaust emissions. These pollutants, besides acting as irritants, increasing airways hyper-reactivity, are thought to be causal factors which act to modulate the immune response, with an adjuvant activity on immunoglobulin E (IgE) synthesis. In other words, atopic state can be upregulated by environmental influences, and some subjects develop atopic diseases in response to these environmental factors. Since airborne allergens and air pollutants are often both increased in the same areas, potentiation, either in the degree of acquired sensitization or in the degree of the response to allergens, should be considered as an important factor which might help to explain the increasing frequency of allergic respiratory disease. In the light of our present knowledge, it is evident that further investigation in human subjects, aimed at evaluating specific agents, and their concentration in the atmosphere, which can influence pulmonary function, is needed. These studies may help to explain the increasing problem of asthma morbidity and mortality.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed1994

Environment and development of respiratory allergy. II. Indoors.

Even if it is difficult to obtain correct epidemiological evidence, there is a body of evidence which suggests that the frequency of allergic respiratory diseases is increasing. The majority of atopic patients, in particular in childhood and adolescence, develop immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies with clinical symptoms to aeroallergens, such as those derived from house dust mites, pollens and pets. Since, in the economically-developed countries individuals spend most of their time indoors (home, school and workplace), indoor pollutants (tobacco smoke etc.) and allergens (house dust mite, cats, etc.) are the most important source of exposure. Indoor allergens are associated with a wide variety of particles in a broad size range, only some of which are microscopically identifiable, culturable, or detectable with existing immunoassay. Evaluation of indoor allergens requires both air and source sampling, and several different analytical techniques. It is likely that the increased prevalence of allergy and asthma may be caused in the indoor environment by the synergistic action of air pollution (in particular derived from tobacco smoking) with allergic sensitization. Passive smoking in infancy has also been involved in the airways allergic sensitization to common aeroallergens.

Air Pollution, Indoor↗
PubMed1993

Theophylline in the inhibition of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor-induced cough.

Preliminary reports suggest that some pharmacologic agents may be effective in ameliorating angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor-induced cough and, perhaps, allowing continuing use of ACE inhibitors in patients for whom this class of medication is important. We examined the effect of a once-a-day theophylline formulation on ACE inhibitor-induced cough and on the sensitivity of the cough reflex to capsaicin in 10 hypertensive patients who had developed cough during treatment with an ACE inhibitor. Theophylline did not induce bronchodilation but induced complete remission of clinical symptoms in 8 and attenuated the capsaicin-induced cough number in 7 subjects when compared with placebo. Theophylline may thus be effective in preventing ACE inhibitor-induced cough.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

[Asthma in pregnancy. Physiopathological, clinical, and therapeutic aspects].

The constantly increasing frequency of asthmatic pathologies in the general population has consequently led to a greater number of cases of bronchial asthma in pregnant women. In normal conditions the respiratory function undergoes numerous modifications in pregnancy, above all increased ventilation/minute and oxygen consumption. Likewise, asthma has a number of obviously negative effects both on the pregnant woman and the developing foetus. The clinical course of asthma may also be influenced by the start of pregnancy in various unforeseeable ways. All these aspects highlight the considerable difficulties of treating bronchial asthma during pregnancy, not to mention the medicolegal responsibility which the obstetrician and doctor must assume. In this respect it is vitally important to emphasize that pregnant women suffering from asthma must be treated in the same way as those who are not pregnant, and both prophylactic and anti-dysreactive pharmacological treatment must be administered at an early stage right up until the time of birth. Since these drugs are above all of the aerosol type, their potential secondary and/or teratogenic effects is considered extremely low and to all extents absolutely favourable in relation to the cost/benefit ratio. In fact, it is certainly less damaging for the pregnant woman to take these drugs, even in the first trimester of pregnancy, rather than run the risk of an attack of asthma with unforeseeable results. It is therefore enormously important to ensure that both the doctor and pregnant woman are adequately informed regarding preventive and pharmacological strategies for bronchial asthma.

Asthma↗
PubMed1991

Antigenic activity of nonpollen parts (leaves and stems) of allergenic plants (Parietaria judaica and Dactylis glomerata).

In patients with respiratory allergy to pollen it is common to correlate the onset, duration and intensity of clinical symptoms with the count of atmospheric allergenic pollen grains. Pollen counts, however, may not reflect the total airborne allergen exposure since previous data suggest that pollen allergens may also be carried in microaerosol suspensions. These microdroplets may penetrate deeply into the airways, where pollen grains are too large to penetrate, eventually inducing asthma. The origin of these allergenic aerosols is still uncertain. We investigated whether antigenic activity is present in vegetative parts of allergenic plants. We have used extracts from leaves and stems of Parietaria judaica and Dactylis glomerata to evaluate patients with allergic sensitization to pollen allergens of these plants (19 grass-sensitive patients and 23 Parietaria sensitive). By using skin prick testing and RAST to stem and leaf extracts other than pollen extracts we observed that most patients sensitive to grass or Parietaria pollen had small responses to extracts of stem or leaf. We conclude that allergenic components are present throughout most of Parietaria judaica and Dactylis glomerata plants, most highly concentrated in the pollen but present in the leaves with a trace in the stems.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

A study on airborne allergenic pollen content of the atmosphere of Naples.

In this paper we describe the results of volumetric sampling of the airborne allergenic pollen content of the Naples atmosphere. These studies have been carried out continuously since 1 May 1979 until 31 December 1981 utilizing a Burkard volumetric spore trap. We found that the most important allergenic pollen in Naples air is Parietaria, with a very long-lasting period of pollination occurring from March to November. After Parietaria, Gramineae play an allergenic role frequently in association with the pollen of Olea, which is the most important pollen of all the trees in this area. In the summer/autumn seasons we observed in this area the pollination of mugwort (the unique plant of the Compositae) which was found to be of allergenic importance in Naples.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Parietaria pollinosis: clinical and epidemiological aspects.

The aim of our study was the evaluation of clinical and epidemiological aspects of P pollen allergy, which is a very frequent cause of respiratory allergy in the Mediterranean area, in a homogeneous group of 442 monosensitive subjects (235 females and 207 males, mean age about 30 years) living in Naples. All patients underwent the following diagnostic procedures: anamnestic evaluation with an internal questionnaire, physical examination, SPT with commercially available allergenic extracts (DHS-Bayropharm Milan Italy); sNPT, NsBPT, and serum specific IgE determinations were also carried out in three groups of 50 different subjects. The results of our study show a highly relevant intensity of SPT positivity (4+ and 3+ in about 95% of patients). The age of onset of clinical symptoms ranged between 20-25 years, and the majority of P monosensitized patients were born in the spring months, with an early exposure to P allergens. Rhinoconjunctivitis and bronchial asthma, alone or association, represent the most common clinical manifestation of this allergy. The season in which patients experience clinical symptoms is prevalently spring (75, 12%). However, many people show a multiseasonal pattern (18, 55%). The frequency of SPT positivity to P allergens is increasing in the last 15 years, probably due to increased urban air pollution. In conclusion, the results of this study demonstrate the high frequency and severity of this pollinosis and seem to confirm some epidemiological aspects connected with other allergenic pollens (birth during the seasonal period of pollination and association with a high urban air pollution).

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The perennial pattern of clinical symptoms in children monosensitized to Olea europaea pollen allergens in comparison with subjects with Parietaria and Gramineae pollinosis.

Because the pediatric age represents a good model to study the correlation between the exposure to allergens and development of respiratory allergy, we investigated the occurrence of a perennial type of symptomatology in children monosensitized to Olea europaea (O.e.) pollen allergens compared with subjects with monosensitization to Parietaria (P) and Gramineae (G) in order to confirm our previous observations in adults. We selected a group of 52 children with rhinitis and/or bronchial asthma and a SPT positivity only to pollens (30 to P, 15 to G, and 7 to O.e.). Using commercially available allergenic extracts and reagents, the following diagnostic procedures were performed: skin prick test (SPT), specific IgE assays (RAST), nonspecific bronchial provocation test (NsBPT) and specific nasal provocation test (sNPT), respectively, in patients with bronchial asthma and rhinitis. Pollen counts and a statistical analysis using Spearman's correlation test were also carried out. Six of seven children with monosensitization to O.e. allergens showed a perennial pattern of symptoms in comparison to 7 of 23 and 3 of 12, respectively, in subjects with P and G pollinosis. All patients with perennial nasal symptoms of O.e. group exhibited a late nasal response after sNPT. Although these findings on nasal response may partially explain the occurrence of a prolonged inflammation of the nose induced by O.e. allergens, we think that other possibilities could be investigated. In our opinion, further studies are necessary using better purified and standardized diagnostic materials and, moreover, a greater number of O.e. monosensitized children living in other geographical areas need to be examined for a comparison of our results with theirs.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Sensitization to cockroach in Italy: a multicentric study.

The prevalence of sensitization to cockroach (CR) was evaluated by skin prick test (SPT) in 1299 patients consecutively referred for rhinitis and asthma to five allergy centers in northern, central, and southern Italy. In patients with positive SPT to CR, an SPT with D. pteronyssinus extract was made. RAST inhibition was performed with pooled sera of subjects with positive SPT and RAST of at least Class 3 for CR and D. Pteronyssinus, to assess the cross-reactivity between these two allergenic sources. The protein content of allergen extracts was assayed by isoelectric focusing (IEF). A total of 170 patients (13%) had a positive SPT with CR extract, and 133 of them (78.2%) were also positive for D. pteronyssinus. RAST inhibition showed a cross-reactivity between CR and D. pteronyssinus, and IEF detected in the extracts employed a series of bands focusing at the same pI of CR and D. pteronyssinus relevant allergens. Therefore, the prevalence of sensitization to CR in the population studied, corresponding to 13%, suggests that CR extract might be added to standard SPT panels for respiratory allergy. However, the cross-reactivity with D. pteronyssinus calls for careful evaluation of the clinical importance of this sensitization.

Adolescent↗