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Biomedical subjects

L Businco

Publications and source records attributed to L Businco.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Anaphylactic reactions to a cow's milk whey protein hydrolysate (Alfa-Ré, Nestlé) in infants with cow's milk allergy.

It has been shown in an animal model that cow's milk (CM) protein hydrolysates do not elicit an antibody response to CM proteins and do not induce passive cutaneous anaphylaxis. In addition, babies fed with these formulae during the first months of life do not show antibodies to betalactoglobulin (BLG). These data suggest that these hydrolysates are not antigenic, therefore they have been employed as CM substitutes for the management of infants with CM allergy (CMA). We report five exclusively breast fed infants aged 3 to 8 months (median age = 5 mo) with IgE-mediated CMA, who experienced allergic reactions when they were first fed (median age = 5 months) with a small amount of CM whey protein hydrolysate (Alfa-Ré, Nestlé). Family history was positive for atopy in 3/5 babies. All infants had atopic dermatitis during breastfeeding, positive skin tests, and RAST to CM proteins as well as to Alfa-Ré. Total IgE levels ranged from 45 to 2,990 U/mL. These data show that Alfa-Ré, a CM whey protein trypsin hydrolysate, can trigger severe allergic reactions in children with CMA and it should be employed with great caution as a CM substitute in the management of CMA.

Anaphylaxis↗
PubMed1988

Month of birth and grass pollen or mite sensitization in children with respiratory allergy: a significant relationship.

This report describes a retrospective analysis of the month of birth distribution of 2124 children with respiratory allergy in the Rome district between 1964 and 1985, in comparison with the total live births in the same district over the same period. Of the 2124 children, 1685 had positive skin tests and/or RAST only to mites, and 439 only to grass pollen (P much less than 0.001). A significant relationship was found between grass or mite sensitization and the month of birth. A high proportion of children born in June-September had mite allergy (P less than 0.005), and even higher was that of those born in March-May with grass sensitivity (P much less than 0.005), compared with the total live birth distribution in the Rome district in the same years as the children examined. These results are consistent with the idea that allergy may be associated with a period of susceptibility to sensitization in early infancy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Immediate reactions following challenge-tests in children with atopic dermatitis.

It has been shown that atopic dermatitis improves in children when certain foods are eliminated from the diet. Because of the unreliability of the history and the low sensibility of the total and specific IgE and skin tests, at present the elimination-provocation test is the most definitive means to establish which are the offending food(s). Although many authors claim that reactions following the challenge test in atopic dermatitis are only of the delayed type, others assert that immediate reactions are frequent and can sometimes threaten life. The pathogenesis of such reactions is not yet completely understood. However, it has been suggested that a direct IgE-mediated mechanism, inducing a release of anaphylactic mediators, could play some role. The aim of our study is to investigate the incidence of immediate reactions which can follow the food challenge in children with atopic dermatitis who have never experienced such reactions and, in addition, to investigate the reliability of total and specific IgE and skin tests in predicting immediate reactions after the challenge test. Our preliminary data indicate that immediate reactions following food challenge are frequent. Moreover they can be severe and cannot be predicted by the history, by the total and specific IgE levels and by the skin tests' results.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Clinical and immunological findings in four infants with Omenn's syndrome: a form of severe combined immunodeficiency with phenotypically normal T cells, elevated IgE, and eosinophilia.

We report four cases of Omenn's syndrome (OS), an autosomal recessive disease characterized by early erythrodermia, protracted diarrhea, severe infections, lymphadenopathy, hepatosplenomegaly, failure to thrive, and leukocytosis with marked eosinophilia. The immunological investigations revealed B lymphopenia with increased levels of serum IgE and marked depression of T-cell activation, not restored by the addition of exogenous interleukin 2 (IL-2). IL-2 and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) production in vitro were very low or absent. One patient was treated with HLA-identical bone marrow transplant with a complete remission of the clinical picture and the immunological defect. The infant died of graft versus host disease 4 months after the graft. For the remaining three infants the outcome was also fatal within the first year of life. In conclusion, OS should be considered a severe combined immunodeficiency disease with peculiar clinical, immunological, and histological findings.

Antibody Formation↗
PubMed1986

Results in two infants with the DiGeorge syndrome--effects of long-term TP5.

We treated two patients affected by DiGeorge syndrome with long-term administration of the synthetic thymic hormone thymopoietin (TP5). In both cases we obtained durable immunological reconstitution, starting as early as 2 weeks after beginning of TP5 treatment. High levels of circulating immature thymocytes and precursor T cells (defined by monoclonal antibodies OKT6, OKT9, and OKT10) were present prior to therapy, and they steadily decreased during the first few weeks of study. During the same time, phenotypically mature T lymphocytes (OKT3+ and OKT4+/OKT8+) markedly increased, thereafter remaining at near normal levels. OKT10+ cells appeared to rise again after 3 months of TP5 treatment. In vitro function of T cells, assessed by PHA stimulation, and in vivo cell-mediated immunity (skin tests with Candida) were normal at 3 and at 2 months, respectively, after initiation of therapy. No severe infection episodes were recorded and normal development was achieved. No side effect or adverse reaction occurred. In these two patients the other features of the DiGeorge syndrome were successfully treated by early cardiac surgery and vitamin D therapy. The immunological reconstitution, in absence of functioning thymus observed in these two cases, provides further evidence of the effectiveness of long-term treatment with thymic hormones--with maintenance of the improvement of cell-mediated immunity.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗
PubMed1986

Double-blind crossover trial with oral sodium cromoglycate in children with atopic dermatitis due to food allergy.

Thirty-one children with atopic dermatitis, aged 6 months to 10 years, were selected for this trial. All had historical, clinical, and laboratory evidences that allergy to food was the cause of exacerbations of eczema. Either oral sodium cromoglycate (SCG) or a matching placebo was administered orally for 8 weeks, followed by the alternative treatment for a further 8-week period. During the first 4 weeks of each treatment period, patients remained on an exclusion diet. During the second 4 weeks, the offending food(s) was reintroduced into the diet. The severity of the eczema and the changes in severity as a result of diet or challenge were measured both by the clinician (using body diagrams) and by parents (using a daily diary card). Analysis of the clinician's scoring and the patient's diary card scores demonstrated a statistically significant difference in favour of SCG, especially in the group where the placebo preceded the active treatment. Sodium cromoglycate does seem to reduce the exacerbations of atopic dermatitis caused by food allergens.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1986

Serum immunoglobulins and secretory IgA deficiency in tonsillectomized children.

We studied serum immunoglobulin patterns in 65 children aged 2 to 10 years before and 1 to 4 months after tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy, and secretory IgA (sIgA) levels in 46 children aged 3 to 10 years before and 1 month after the same operation. Serum immunoglobulin and sIgA values were normal prior to surgery, and significantly lower afterwards. The data emphasize the importance of palatine tonsils not only in the synthesis of monomeric immunoglobulins but also in the synthesis of dimeric immunoglobulins in secretions. Although more long-term, follow-up studies supporting our results are needed, we suggest that a post-adenotonsillectomy drop in immunoglobulin and sIgA levels may predispose children to a constellation of disorders. We recommend, therefore, that serum immunoglobulins and sIgA levels be determined in all children before and after surgery.

Child↗
PubMed1985

The Omenn's syndrome: histological, immunohistochemical and ultrastructural evidence for a partial T cell deficiency evolving in an abnormal proliferation of T lymphocytes and S-100 +/T-6 + Langerhans-like cells.

A 7 month old female infant was affected by a rapidly fatal familial disease highly reminiscent of Omenn's syndrome. She presented with widespread eczematous lesions, hepatosplenomegaly, superficial lymphadenopathy, peripheral blood lymphocytosis, eosinophilia and hyper-IgE. An axillary lymph node was involved by a marked proliferation of T-3 +/T-10-- lymphocytes admixed with S-100+/T-6+/Leu-3a+/Ia + reticular cells which lacked typical LC granules; cell suspension study revealed that 90%-96% of the lymph node cells were T-11+/T-3+ lymphocytes characterized by low expression of Leu-3a and T-8 antigens and by high expression of Ia antigens (52%). Peripheral blood T lymphocytes exhibited a similar distribution of surface phenotypes. The patient died of interstitial pneumonia and an autopsy was performed. The thymus was markedly atrophic and completely devoid of lymphocytes. The peri-arteriolar lymphoid sheets of the spleen were poorly developed and were mainly composed of T-8+ lymphocytes. The mediastinal nodes were rudimentary and were populated by T-3+/T-10+ lymphocytes with low expression of Leu-3a and T-8 antigens. Our results raise the possibility that Omenn's syndrome is a peculiar primary immunodeficiency in which, despite early thymic involution, some abnormal T lymphocytes still develop in the peripheral lymphoid organs. Antigenic triggering of these cells might result in prominent proliferations of T lymphocytes and Langerhans-like cells which lead to the clinical manifestation of the disease.

Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte↗
PubMed1985

Cellular and molecular studies on ataxia-telangiectasia lymphoblastoid cell lines.

We have examined several AT-related lesions in lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) derived from AT patients. Diminished sensitivity to gamma-irradiation was found in six of seven AT-LCLs. A seventh line, from a patient with apparently normal T-cell immunity, responded normally following radiation. Constitutive proteins from exponentially growing AT-LCLs were assessed by SDS-PAGE analysis and did not differ significantly from normals. IgM synthesis was also normal except for one AT-LCL that contained native IgM molecules of different sizes, corresponding to the presence of pentamers and oligomers. Analysis under reducing conditions showed normal-sized secretory mu-chains. Finally, we examined mRNAs corresponding to two oncogenes, c-myc and c-myb, in AT and normal LCLs and found marked overproduction of c-myc in one AT-LCL (ie,, ATL6). The latter findings suggest that AT cells might be prone to aberrantly express cellular oncogenes as a result of chromosomal instability and consequent transposition of oncogenes.

Ataxia Telangiectasia↗
PubMed1985

Chronic diarrhea due to cow's milk allergy. A 4- to 10-year follow-up study.

There is general agreement that chronic diarrhea due to cow's milk allergy (CMA) resolves with a cow's milk-free diet, and that tolerance to cow's milk is achieved by 2 years of life. We have followed for 4 to 10 years, 41 infants with chronic diarrhea due to CMA, who had at onset of diarrhea RAST and/or skin tests positive to cow's milk. After the diarrhea subsided, the diet was continued for 6 months and, subsequently, cow's milk reintroduction was attempted at 6-month intervals. In contrast to 25/37 children (four cases were lost to follow-up) in whom CMA subsided at a median age of 2 years, 12/37 (32.5%) children did not tolerate cow's milk at a median age of 6 years. In addition, a large proportion of children (27/37 = 73%) suffered during the follow-up period from other atopic manifestations, due either to CMA or to inhalant allergy. Our data suggest that in infants with chronic diarrhea due to CMA, RAST and/or skin tests positive to cow's milk may indicate either the tendency of CMA to persist throughout childhood, or the risk of developing other atopic diseases.

Animals↗