The goal of this study was to instrumentally evaluate the skin of healthy infants and to compare it to adult skin. A total of 70 infants, 45 girls and 25 boys, ages 8-24 months, and 30 healthy women were studied by means of transepidermal water loss (TEWL), capacitance, and pH measurements at two different skin sites, the volar forearm and the buttocks. No significant differences in TEWL were found between infants and adults, either on the buttocks or on the volar forearm. On the contrary, capacitance values were higher in infants. Their skin also appeared less acid than that of adults, with high statistical significance. No TEWL, capacitance, or pH variations were observed in infants according to sex and age. On the basis of the above data, the skin of infants 8-24 months of age shows functional signs of immaturity. This may lead to an increased permeability and a reduced capacity for defense against chemical and microbial aggression.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Contact sensitization to disperse dyes in children.

From January 1996 to December 2000, 1098 children, including 667 subjects with suspected allergic contact dermatitis and 431 patients with atopic dermatitis (AD), were patch tested with seven disperse dyes: disperse blue 124 (DB124), disperse blue 106 (DB106), disperse red 1 (DR1), disperse yellow 3 (DY3), disperse orange 3 (DO3), p-aminoazobenzene (PAAB), and p-dimethylaminoazobenzene (PDAAB). Of these, 51 patients (4.6%; 34 girls and 17 boys) proved sensitized to disperse dyes. AD or history of AD was present in 30 patients (59%). The most common sensitizer was DY3 (17 patients), followed by DO3 (15 patients), and DB124 (14 patients). Among dye-positive patients, about 12% were sensitized to disperse dyes alone and only 14% reacted to para-phenylenediamine. In disperse dye-sensitive children not affected by AD, the feet, axillae, and groin appeared to be the most common localizations, whereas in those with AD, involvement of the face and the flexural areas of the limbs was more common. In conclusion, our study showed that in children with suspected contact sensitization, disperse dyes should be regarded as potential triggering allergens.

Child↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[First experience with the classification of staphylococcal phages of animal origin].

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Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Chronic active hepatitis].

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Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Selection of N-(phosphonacetyl)-L-aspartate resistant Chinese hamster mutants in the presence of the uridine uptake inhibitor dipyridamole.

In mammalian cells selected in culture for resistance to PALA the CAD gene is amplified and these cells are a widely used model system to study gene amplification. Selection of resistant mutants is routinely performed in medium supplemented with dialyzed serum, because the cytotoxic effect of PALA is reversed by uridine, which is contained in serum. We have shown that in Chinese hamster cells dipyridamole reduced uridine uptake to less than 5% with limited effect on cell survival. Moreover, in medium supplemented with complete serum and 10 microM dipyridamole the toxicity of PALA was similar to that obtained in medium containing dialyzed serum. We then used 10 microM dipyridamole to inhibit uridine uptake during selection of PALA resistant colonies and found that both the frequency and the type of mutants were as those obtained in the presence of dialyzed serum. In particular, in the five mutants tested, the mechanism of resistance to PALA was amplification of the CAD gene.

Animals↗