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Biomedical subjects

L Sensi

Publications and source records attributed to L Sensi.

34 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

Soluble CD30 serum antigen in Kawasaki disease.

Very high levels of sCD30, a glycoprotein surface antigen expressed by T lymphocytes and other mononuclear cells of the immune system, were found in serum samples from 10 children with typical Kawasaki disease (KD), but not in blood specimens from a vast cohort of paediatric control subjects. These data strongly support an involvement of CD30 T cells in the immune processes which take place at the level of lymphoid organs during the acute phase of KD.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1997

Prevalence of asthma and rhinitis in Perugia, Italy.

This cross-sectional study evaluated the prevalence of, and risk factors for, asthma and rhinitis in a randomized sample of males and females, aged 0-69 yrs, in Perugia, Italy. To determine the prevalence of asthma and rhinitis, 824 subjects were interviewed by trained physicians using a modified American Thoracic Society and National Heart and Lung Institute-Division of Lung Disease questionnaire proposed in 1978 (ATS-DLD-78). Skin-prick tests were carried out in 667 subjects > or = 3 yrs of age. Age, sex, atopy, smoking, and household pets were considered potential risk factors for the development of asthma and rhinitis. Cumulative prevalences of: asthma was 8.1%; current asthma 5.0%; and rhinitis 15.2%. Positive skin tests were observed in 21.3% of subjects: in 63.4% of the cases of current asthma and in 68.7% of rhinitis cases. The prevalence of asthma and rhinitis was similar in both sexes. Prevalence of current asthma was almost three times higher in childhood than after the age of 10 yrs. Positive skin tests for pollens and house dust mite were the most prevalent risk factors for asthma. Current smoking was inversely associated with prevalence of current asthma possibly because of a self-selecting effect. Household pets were found not to be major risk factors for asthma or rhinitis. In conclusion, prevalence of asthma and rhinitis is a common health problem in the Perugia area, and atopy, particularly pollen sensitivity, is the most important risk factor for the development of asthma and rhinitis.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Benzyl-benzoate foam: effects on mite allergens in mattress, serum and nasal secretory IgE to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, and bronchial hyperreactivity in children with allergic asthma.

Home mattresses of 24 asthmatic children with house dust mite allergy were sprayed with either benzyl-benzoate foam or placebo in a double blind fashion, 10 days before the children left the residential house for asthmatic children Istituto Pio XII (located in the Italian Alps in an environment free of mites) and went back to their own home for the Christmas and Easter holidays. A further group of 8 children, whose mattresses received no treatment, was kept as an absolute control. Two days after spraying, benzyl-benzoate or placebo were vacuumed from the mattresses. Acarex test was performed immediately before spraying and at the end of each holiday period of 20 and 10 days, respectively. Bronchial hyperreactivity as well as serum and nasal secretory specific IgE for Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus were assessed in all children immediately before leaving and within 48 hr after returning to the residential house. The results of the study show that sprayed benzyl-benzoate foam was no more effective than placebo in reducing the level of house dust mite recovered from patients' mattresses, or in reducing bronchial hyperreactivity and IgE concentration in serum and nasal secretions.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Lymphocytes bearing the gamma/delta T-cell receptors in Down's syndrome.

Subjects with Down's syndrome (DS), or trisomy 21, have an increased susceptibility to infections, malignant diseases and autoimmune phenomena. Various arms of the immune system are severely impaired in trisomic patients. We found that the proportion of blood lymphocytes bearing the gamma/delta T-cell receptor (TCR) was significantly higher in adults with trisomy 21 than in age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Interestingly, the increase was mainly due to an over-expansion of cells which bear non-covalently bound gamma/delta chains on their surface. This contrasts with the normal blood picture, where the great majority of gamma/delta T cells express the disulphide-linked form of the TCR. The fact that trisomic gamma/delta T cells are both numerically and phenotypically unbalanced provides further evidence that immunological abnormalities are integral features of DS.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Lymphocytes bearing the gamma delta T-cell receptor in acute toxoplasmosis.

Although the relative and absolute numbers of CD3+ cells (T lymphocytes) were similar in eight children with acquired Toxoplasma gondii infection and 10 uninfected age- and sex-matched healthy controls, the proportion of cells bearing the gamma delta T-cell receptor was significantly higher in the subjects with acute toxoplasmosis. The great majority of gamma delta T cells from the infected patients expressed covalently bound gamma delta chains on their surface, i.e. were BB3+ lymphocytes. Since the gamma delta T-cell subsets exert both restricted and unrestricted major histocompatibility complex cytotoxicity, further research is needed to elucidate the role of gamma delta T cells in the control of this coccidian protozoan infection.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1989

Amino acid sequence of alpha-chain of hemoglobin IV from trout (Salmo irideus).

The amino acid sequence of the alpha-chain of trout hemoglobin (Hb) IV is given, thus completing the primary structure of the hemoglobin component of trout's blood characterized by the Root effect. The trout Hb IV alpha-chain consists of 142 amino acid residues; comparison with the corresponding sequences from human and carp hemoglobins shows differences of 50.0 and 35.9%, respectively. A difference of 39.6% is found with the alpha-chain of trout Hb I, the other major hemoglobin component of trout blood, devoid of heterotropic effects.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1989

A new method for IgE detection in nasal mucosa.

A new method for determining IgE antibodies on mucosal surfaces has been developed with the purpose of overcoming the main problems of nasal secretion sampling and standardization. The method is based on the principle of performing the incubation of the solid-phase coupled allergen with IgE antibody directly on the mucosal surface by means of a proper applicator. About two times higher values of specific IgE have been obtained with 5 min incubation on septal mucosa, behind the internal ostium, than with 3 hr in-vitro incubation with native secretion. In a study of 53 children with allergic rhinitis and asthma and 10 healthy non-atopic controls the sensitivity and specificity of this new method were evident. Because of its reliability and easy execution the new method could be widely used in diagnosis of allergic disease. Further, it seems to offer a good opportunity to study the IgE-mediated reaction in the target organ more extensively.

Child↗
PubMed1982

Abnormal urinary excretion of glycosaminoglycans in Albers-Schönberg disease.

Abnormal urinary excretion of acid mucopolysaccharides in two children affected with Albers-Schönberg disease is described. The urine specimens were first checked for their acid glycosaminoglycan (AGAG) content by a screening test. The AGAGs were then evaluated by uronic acid determination using the carbazole method, and the ratio between high molecular mass and low molecular mass AGAGs was determined. Qualitative characterization, before and after enzymatic digestion with chondroitinases AC (ChAC) and ABC (ChABC), of the total AGAGs contained in the specimen and of each AGAG separated with Dowex 1X2 was also performed by electrophoresis. The pattern of the urinary mucopolysaccharides in the two patients showed an abnormal quantity of heparan sulphate (HS) and a smaller quantity of dermatan sulphate (DS). Such abnormal urinary AGAGs excretion should confirm the assumption of some authors that malignant infantile osteopetrosis may be caused by a deficiency in the lysosomal enzymatic activity, or by some anomaly in the cell membrane function.

Child↗
PubMedDate not supplied

An extensively hydrolysed cow's milk formula improves clinical symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux and reduces the gastric emptying time in infants.

BACKGROUND: About 20 % of infants fed with breast-milk substitutes suffer from Gastro Esophageal Reflux (GER) and 1/3 of them also show Cow's Milk Allergy (CMA) symptoms. METHODS: We planned this study to assess by dynamic echography the usefulness of an Extensively Hydrolysed Cow's Milk Formula (eHF) in infants suffering from GER. Ten infants showing GER symptoms and 10 normal babies, all fed with breast-milk substitutes, were enrolled. Clinical symptom scores related to GER were assessed for one week. The Gastric Emptying Time (GET) was determined by means of dynamic echography after feeding with cow's milk-derived formulae and again after a week feeding with eHF in subjects previously showing GER symptoms. RESULTS: All infants with a clinical diagnosis for GER showed an abnormally high average GET in comparison to normal subjects (205 vs 124 min, p = 0.000). Switching to the eHF led to a significant clinical improvement (p = 0.0039) especially in babies skin-test and RAST positive to cow's milk, and to a significant decrease toward the normal value of the GET (167 min, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The eHF tested improves GER symptoms in infants suffering from this disease. Our experience confirms and supports the use of dynamic echography as a reliable, simple, and non-invasive diagnostic method for infants with an increased GET associated with clinical symptoms of GER.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Sublingual reactivity to rBET V1 and rPHL P1 in patients with oral allergy syndrome.

Oral Allergy Syndrome (OAS) in patients with pollen-induced rhinoconjunctivitis is caused by specific IgE recognizing cross-reacting epitopes of fruits and plants, which were clearly shown in vitro, but failed to be demonstrated in vivo by cross-challenges in the target organs. Considering the hypothesis of degradation of such epitopes in natural extracts, challenges with recombinant pollen allergens were done to evaluate the reactivity of the oral mucosa in OAS patients. Seventeen patients with OAS and rhinitis from birch (10) and grass pollen (7) and 10 non-atopic controls were studied by skin prick tests (SPT), allergen specific nasal challenges (ASNC) and allergen specific sublingual challenges (ASSC) with birch and timothy extracts and with rBet v1 and rPhl p1 at increasing concentrations from 1 to 1000 mcg/ml. None of the healthy subjects in the control group had any positive test for birch and timothy extracts or for recombinant allergens. In the OAS group the following results were observed: SPTs with recombinant allergens were positive in all patients, mostly at 10 mcg/ml concentration; ASNC with rBet v1 were positive in all patients, mostly at 100 mcg/ml; ASSC with natural pollen extracts were positive in only 2 of 17 patients, but in 15 of 17 with rBet v1 and rPhl p1, mostly at 500 mcg/ml and 1000 mcg/ml. ASSC with rBet v1 and rPhl p1 were positive with a mean concentration of 677 and 533 mcg/ml, respectively. The results of sublingual challenges with rBet v1 and rPhl p1 showed the in vivo cross-reactivity between pollens and foods in patients with OAS, but high concentrations of the recombinant allergens were needed to reproduce oral symptoms, thus explaining the failure of challenges performed with natural extracts, which have concentrations of major allergens lower than 50 mcg/ml. This indicates that sublingual mucosa is much less reactive to allergens than other surfaces, such as skin and nasal mucosa, probably because of its anatomic and immunologic peculiarity.

Administration, Sublingual↗