Allergology and Immunology

Detection of IL10-producing B cell (B10) in adenoids of atopic children with adenoidal hypertrophy

Authors: Chiara Valsecchi, Sara Carlotta Tagliacarne, Ilaria Brambilla, Catherine Klersy, Marco Benazzo, Lorenza Montagna, Dimitri Poddighe, Giorgio Ciprandi, Gian Luigi Marseglia, Amelia Licari and Annamaria Castellazzi

Susceptibility to allergy in adoptive children: a cross-sectional study at “Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital”

Prevalence of allergy has steeply increased during the past few decades, particularly in high-income countries. The development of atopy could present different characteristics in internationally adopted child...

Authors: Hyppolite K. Tchidjou, Maria Fenicia Vescio, Jessica Serafinelli, Rosaria Giampaolo, Alessandro Jenkner, Mathurin C. Tadonkeng, Luca Avellis, Alessandro Fiocchi, Patrizio Pezzotti, Giovanni Rezza and Paolo Rossi

Anaphylactic shock with methylprednisolone sodium succinate in a child with short bowel syndrome and cow’s milk allergy

Medications with methyl-prednisolone sodium succinate containing lactose, which potentially contains traces of cow’s milk proteins (CMP), could cause allergic reactions or compromise treatment of acute allergi...

Authors: Federica Porcaro, Maria Giovanna Paglietti, Antonella Diamanti, Francesca Petreschi, Alessandra Schiavino, Valentina Negro, Valentina Pecora, Alessandro Fiocchi and Renato Cutrera

Specific IgE and skin prick tests to diagnose allergy to fresh and baked cow’s milk according to age: a systematic review

The diagnosis of IgE-mediated cow’s milk allergy is often based on anamnesis, and on specific IgE (sIgE) levels and/or Skin Prick Tests (SPT), which have both a good sensitivity but a low specificity, often ca...

Authors: Barbara Cuomo, Giovanni Cosimo Indirli, Annamaria Bianchi, Stefania Arasi, Davide Caimmi, Arianna Dondi, Stefania La Grutta, Valentina Panetta, Maria Carmen Verga and Mauro Calvani

Efficacy and usability of a novel nebulizer targeting both upper and lower airways

Upper and lower airways diseases share in part their pathogenic mechanisms and frequently occur simultaneously as “United Airway Disease.” Local treatment with nebulizers delivers anti-symptomatic drugs in eit...

Authors: Daniela Posa, Antonio Pizzulli, Petra Wagner, Serena Perna, Stephanie Hofmaier, Paolo Maria Matricardi and Susanne Lau

Long-term treatment with low-dose medicine in chronic childhood eczema: a double-blind two-stage randomized control trial

The efficacy of low-dose medicine (LDM) in childhood mild/moderate eczema is not known. We conducted a double-blind, two-stage, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial, lasting 23 months, to address this...

Authors: R. Carello, L. Ricottini, V. Miranda, P. Panei, L. Rocchi, R. Arcieri and E. Galli

IOEASMA: an integrated clinical and educational pathway for managing asthma in children and adolescents

Due to the lack of real life clinical and educational studies, “Io e l’Asma” Centre performed this implementation research (IR).

Authors: Sebastiano Guarnaccia, Gaia Pecorelli, Marina Bianchi, Massimo Cartabia, Gianluigi Casadei, Ada Pluda, Cristina Quecchia, Valeria Gretter and Maurizio Bonati

ANCA-associated vasculitis in childhood: recent advances

Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitides are rare systemic diseases that usually occur in adulthood. They comprise granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA, Wegener’s), microscopic poly...

Authors: Marta Calatroni, Elena Oliva, Davide Gianfreda, Gina Gregorini, Marco Allinovi, Giuseppe A. Ramirez, Enrica P. Bozzolo, Sara Monti, Claudia Bracaglia, Giulia Marucci, Monica Bodria, Renato A. Sinico, Federico Pieruzzi, Gabriella Moroni, Serena Pastore, Giacomo Emmi…

The utility of the basophil activation test in the diagnosis of immediate amoxicillin or amoxicillin-clavulanate hypersensitivity in children and adults

The basophil activation test (BAT), has been proposed as a possible assay for the diagnosis of immediate-type allergy to beta-lactams (BLs).

Authors: Simona Barni, Francesca Mori, Claudia Valleriani, Giusi Mangone, Sergio Testi, Francesca Saretta, Lucrezia Sarti, Neri Pucci, Maurizio de Martino, Chiara Azzari and Elio Novembre

Difficult diagnosis of atypical kawasaki disease in an infant younger than six months: a case report

Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute inflammatory vasculitis of unknown origin.

Authors: L. Petrarca, R. Nenna, P. Versacci, A. Frassanito, G. Cangiano, A. Nicolai, F. Scalercio, L. Lo Russo, P. Papoff, C. Moretti and F. Midulla

Bifidobacterium mixture (B longum BB536, B infantis M-63, B breve M-16V) treatment in children with seasonal allergic rhinitis and intermittent asthma

Allergic rhinitis (AR) and allergic asthma are caused by an IgE-mediated inflammatory reaction. Probiotics may exert anti-inflammatory and immune-modulatory activity. Thus, this study aimed at investigating wh...

Authors: Michele Miraglia Del Giudice, Cristiana Indolfi, Michele Capasso, Nunzia Maiello, Fabio Decimo and Giorgio Ciprandi

Clinical practice recommendations for allergen-specific immunotherapy in children: the Italian consensus report

Allergen-specific immunotherapy (AIT) is currently recognized as a clinically effective treatment for allergic diseases, with a unique disease-modifying effect. AIT was introduced in clinical practice one cent...

Authors: Giovanni Battista Pajno, Roberto Bernardini, Diego Peroni, Stefania Arasi, Alberto Martelli, Massimo Landi, Giovanni Passalacqua, Antonella Muraro, Stefania La Grutta, Alessandro Fiocchi, Luciana Indinnimeo, Carlo Caffarelli, Elisabetta Calamelli, Pasquale Comberiati and Marzia Duse

Vitamin D deficiency and its impact on asthma severity in asthmatic children

Despite obtaining evidences on association between vitamin D and development of lung in fetus, little is known about vitamin D level and its impact on severity of asthma in children. The present study aimed to...

Authors: Nasrin Esfandiar, Fariba Alaei, Shahrzad Fallah, Delara Babaie and Niloofar Sedghi

Eosinophilic esophagitis after congenital diaphragmatic hernia

Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is an increasingly diagnosed disease, especially in the western world. Although its pathogenesis remains poorly understood, there is strong evidence that the eosinophilic inflamm...

Authors: Amelia Licari, Riccardo Castagnoli and Gian Luigi Marseglia

Atopy and autoimmune thyroid diseases: melatonin can be useful?

Recently, there has been growing interest in the relationship between allergic and autoimmune diseases. Allergy and autoimmunity can be considered two potential outcomes of dysregulated immunity and analysis o...

Authors: Gabriella D’Angelo, Lucia Marseglia, Sara Manti, Laura Colavita, Caterina Cuppari, Pietro Impellizzeri, Salvatore Arena, Teresa Arrigo, Carmelo Salpietro and Eloisa Gitto

Kawasaki disease in Sicily: clinical description and markers of disease severity

Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute systemic vasculitis of small and middle size arteries; 15-25 % of untreated patients and 5 % of patients treated with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) develop coronary artery...

Authors: Maria Cristina Maggio, Giovanni Corsello, Eugenia Prinzi and Rolando Cimaz

Brain damage resembling acute necrotizing encephalopathy as a specific manifestation of haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis - induced by hypersensitivity

Both haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis and acute necrotizing encephalopathy are life-threatening condition. It presents major diagnostic difficulties, since it may have a diversity in clinical picture and wi...

Authors: Dongling Dai, Feiqiu Wen, Sixi Liu and Shaoming Zhou

The B-cell compartment in antibody-deficient infants and young children – developing common variable immunodeficiency or transient immune maturation?

Hypogammaglobulinemia in early childhood is a common feature characterized by distinct intrinsic and extrinsic factors leading to disturbed peripheral blood lymphocyte homeostasis. Detailed flow cytometric imm...

Authors: Aleksandra Szczawinska-Poplonyk, Katarzyna Tapolska-Jozwiak and Husam Samara

Shared genetic variants between serum levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and wheezing in a cohort of children from Cyprus

In a cohort of children in Cyprus, we recently reported low levels of high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) to be associated with asthma. We examined whether genetic polymorphisms that were previously l...

Authors: Panayiotis K. Yiallouros, Panayiotis Kouis, Ourania Kolokotroni, Sonia Youhanna, Savvas C. Savva, Kleanthi Dima, Aikaterini Zerva, Danielle Platt, Nicos Middleton and Pierre Zalloua

Enuresis Nocturna in children with asthma: prevalence and associated risk factors

Enuresis Nocturna (EN) is a common disorders in childhood. Although many different underlying pathophysiological mechanisms have been proposed to explain EN, its etiology is multifactorial. Some reports demons...

Authors: Emin Ozkaya, Seren Calıs Aydın, Mebrure Yazıcı and Rusen Dundaröz

Pulmonary manifestation of immunoglobulin G4-related disease in a 7-year-old immunodeficient boy with Epstein-Barr virus infection: a case report

Immunoglobulin G4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a multiorgan fibroinflammatory condition with lymphoplasmacytic infiltrates containing abundant IgG4-positive plasma cells. The immunopathogenesis of the disease ...

Authors: Aleksandra Szczawinska-Poplonyk, Irena Wojsyk-Banaszak, Katarzyna Jonczyk-Potoczna and Anna Breborowicz

Beyond the “Choosing wisely”: a possible attempt

Since the fundamental principles of the medical profession were clearly defined in a physician charter in 2002, special considerations have been expressed about the adequate distribution of health care resourc...

Authors: Roberto Bernardini, Giampaolo Ricci, Francesca Cipriani, Flavio Civitelli, Luciana Indinnimeo, Domenico Minasi, Luigi Terracciano and Marzia Duse

Omalizumab therapy in a 13-year-old boy with severe persistent asthma and concomitant eosinophilic esophagitis

Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) has been defined as “asthma of the esophagus” for the large number of similarities between the two diseases. Omalizumab is an anti-Immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibody currently appro...

Authors: Stefania Arasi, Stefano Costa, Giuseppe Magazzù, Antonio Ieni, Giuseppe Crisafulli, Lucia Caminiti, Fernanda Chiera, Mario Vaccaro, Michele Miraglia Del Giudice and Giovanni Battista Pajno

Consensus Conference on Clinical Management of pediatric Atopic Dermatitis

The Italian Consensus Conference on clinical management of atopic dermatitis in children reflects the best and most recent scientific evidence, with the aim to provide specialists with a useful tool for managi...

Authors: Elena Galli, Iria Neri, Giampaolo Ricci, Ermanno Baldo, Maurizio Barone, Anna Belloni Fortina, Roberto Bernardini, Irene Berti, Carlo Caffarelli, Elisabetta Calamelli, Lucetta Capra, Rossella Carello, Francesca Cipriani, Pasquale Comberiati, Andrea Diociaiuti, Maya El Hachem…

Severe asthma features in children: a case–control online survey

Very few studies have explored the distinguishing features of severe asthma in childhood in Europe, and only one study was conducted in Southern Europe. The aim of this study was to provide a detailed characte...

Authors: Silvia Montella, Eugenio Baraldi, Salvatore Cazzato, Raffaele Aralla, Mariangela Berardi, Luigia Maria Brunetti, Fabio Cardinale, Renato Cutrera, Fernando Maria de Benedictis, Emanuela di Palmo, Sabrina Di Pillo, Grazia Fenu, Stefania La Grutta, Enrico Lombardi, Giorgio Piacentini, Francesca Santamaria…

Sensitization pattern to inhalant and food allergens in symptomatic children at first evaluation

Data on specific IgE sensitization prevalence in children with allergy-like symptoms seen in the primary care setting are rare. Early diagnosis of allergic diseases is important to prevent clinical manifestati...

Authors: Alessandro Fiocchi, Valentina Pecora, Carl Johan Petersson, Lamia Dahdah, Magnus P. Borres, Maria J. Amengual, Johannes Huss-Marp, Oscar Mazzina and Francesco Di Girolamo

The evaluation of risk factors for recurrent hospitalizations resulting from wheezing attacks in preschool children

We aimed to evaluate the risk factors in preschool children admitted to inpatient services with a diagnosis of recurrent attacks of wheezing.

Authors: Sebnem Ozdogan, Burcu Tabakci, Ayse Sirin Demirel, Bilge Atli, Gulser Esen Besli and Gulsen Kose

Risk factors for celiac disease

Celiac Disease (CD) is an immune-mediated systemic disorder elicited by gluten and related prolamines in genetically susceptible individuals and it is the result of the interaction between genetic and environm...

Authors: Marco Sarno, Valentina Discepolo, Riccardo Troncone and Renata Auricchio

Food allergies in school: design and evaluation of a teacher-oriented training action

Food allergies are perceived as a significant problem in school environments; as a result, a teacher’s ability to recognise and deal with allergic reactions is of fundamental importance to protect children’s h...

Authors: Licia Ravarotto, Giulia Mascarello, Anna Pinto, Maria Rita Schiavo, Marina Bagni and Lucia Decastelli

Resveratrol plus carboxymethyl-β-glucan in children with recurrent respiratory infections: a preliminary and real-life experience

Recurrent respiratory infections (RRI), such as the presence of at least one of the following criteria: i) >6 RI per year; ii) >1 RI per month involving upper airways from September to April; iii) >3 RI involv...

Authors: Alfonso Maria Varricchio, Michele Capasso, Antonio della Volpe, Luigi Malafronte, Nicola Mansi, Attilio Varricchio and Giorgio Ciprandi

Severe congenital neutropenia due to G6PC3 deficiency: early and delayed phenotype in two patients with two novel mutations

Severe Congenital Neutropenia type 4 (SCN4, OMIM 612541) is a rare autosomal recessive disease due to mutations in the G6PC3 gene. The phenotype comprises neutropenia of variable severity and other anomalies incl...

Authors: Lucia Dora Notarangelo, Gianfranco Savoldi, Sara Cavagnini, Veronica Bennato, Sabrina Vasile, Alba Pilotta, Alessandro Plebani and Fulvio Porta

Late-onset of immunodysregulation, polyendocrinopathy, enteropathy, x-linked syndrome (IPEX) with intractable diarrhea

The syndrome of immune dysregulation, polyendocrinopathy, enteropathy, X linked (IPEX) is a rare disorder caused by mutations in the FOXP3 gene. Diarrhea, diabetes and dermatitis are the hallmark of the diseas...

Authors: Daniele Zama, Ilaria Cocchi, Riccardo Masetti, Fernando Specchia, Patrizia Alvisi, Eleonora Gambineri, Mario Lima and Andrea Pession

Atopic dermatitis phenotypes in childhood

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease and can be the first step of the atopic march.

Authors: Giampaolo Ricci, Arianna Dondi, Iria Neri, Lorenza Ricci, Annalisa Patrizi and Andrea Pession

Vaccine risk assessment in children with a referred reaction to a previous vaccine dose: 2009–2011 retrospective report at the Bambino Gesu’ children hospital, Rome, Italy

During the last century, mass vaccination programs have achieved considerable success across the world in immunizing against several serious infectious diseases. However, vaccinations are threatened by their o...

Authors: Luciana Nicolosi, Annachiara Vittucci, Rossella Mancini, Elena Bozzola, Alberto Cagigi, Annalisa Grandin and Alberto Villani

Prevalence and socio-demographic factors associated with non-protective immunity against tetanus among high school adolescents girls in Nigeria

The low uptake of tetanus vaccine and its resultant high burden of tetanus in Nigeria suggest the need to improve routine and booster vaccination in children and adolescents. However, epidemiological evidence ...

Authors: Adebola E Orimadegun, Akinlolu A Adepoju and Olusegun O Akinyinka

Glutathione S transferase theta1 and mu1 gene polymorphisms and phenotypic expression of asthma in Egyptian children: a case–control study

Asthma is the result of a complex interaction between environmental factors and genetic variants that confer susceptibility. The glutathione S-transferases (GSTT1 and GSTM1) are phase II enzymes thought to pro...

Authors: Nihal El Rifai, Nadia Moustafa, Nelly Degheidy and Manal Wilson

Refractory invasive aspergillosis controlled with posaconazole and pulmonary surgery in a patient with chronic granulomatous disease: case report

Invasive aspergillosis is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients. Among primary immunodefiencies, chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) has the highest prevalence of invasive...

Authors: Eda Kepenekli, Ahmet Soysal, Canan Kuzdan, Nezih Onur Ermerak, Mustafa Yüksel and Mustafa Bakır

Nutritional management and follow up of infants and children with food allergy: Italian Society of Pediatric Nutrition/Italian Society of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology Task Force Position Statement

Although the guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of food allergy recognize the role of nutrition, there is few literature on the practical issues concerning the nutritional management of children with fo...

Authors: Marcello Giovannini, Enza D'Auria, Carlo Caffarelli, Elvira Verduci, Salvatore Barberi, Luciana Indinnimeo, Iride Dello Iacono, Alberto Martelli, Enrica Riva and Roberto Bernardini

Recent advances on diagnosis and management of childhood asthma and food allergies

The epidemic of childhood allergic disorders has been associated to the decline of infectious disease. However, exposure to many triggers (airborne viruses, tobacco smoke, pollution, indoor allergens, etc.) co...

Authors: Dani Hakimeh and Salvatore Tripodi

Childhood asthma and vitamin D deficiency in Turkey: is there cause and effect relationship between them?

Epidemiological studies show that vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency are common worldwide and associated with many diseases including asthma. Our aim was to evaluate vitamin D insufficiency and its clinica...

Authors: Metin Uysalol, Levent Cem Mutlu, Gamze Varol Saracoglu, Erkut Karasu, Savas Guzel, Semra Kayaoglu and Nedret Uzel

Pidotimod: the past and the present

At the end of 1990s, acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) were called the 'forgotten pandemic’, with a clear dichotomy between developing and industrialised countries in mortality and morbidity, the main...

Authors: Gian Vincenzo Zuccotti and Chiara Mameli

Melatonin: its possible role in the management of viral infections-a brief review

Melatonin, a versatile molecule, is synthesized by the pineal gland but also by other organs, including gastrointestinal tract, retina, thymus, bone marrow, and by leukocytes. Besides playing an important role...

Authors: Michela Silvestri and Giovanni A Rossi

Nijmegen breakage syndrome and chronic polyarthritis

We report on pediatric patient with Nijmegen breakage syndrome (NBS), a rare DNA repair disorder characterized by microcephaly, immunodeficiency and predisposition to malignant lymphomas, who developed juvenil...

Authors: Srdjan Pasic, Maja Cupic, Tanja Jovanovic, Slobodanka Djukic, Maja Kavaric and Ivana Lazarevic

A family history of serious complications due to BCG vaccination is a tool for the early diagnosis of severe primary immunodeficiency

Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID) is one of the most severe forms of primary immunodeficiency (PID). Complications of BCG vaccination, especially disseminated infection and its most severe forms, are kno...

Authors: Pérsio Roxo-Junior, Jorgete Silva, Mauro Andrea, Larissa Oliveira, Fernando Ramalho, Thiago Bezerra and Altacílio A Nunes

Skin prick test to foods in childhood atopic eczema: pros and cons

Skin prick tests are the first investigation in allergy diagnostics and their use is described in all the guidelines on atopic eczema. However, the clinical usefulness of skin prick tests is the subject of gre...

Authors: Carlo Caffarelli, Arianna Dondi, Carlotta Povesi Dascola and Giampaolo Ricci

Probiotics and food allergy

The exact prevalence of food allergy in the general population is unknown, but almost 12% of pediatric population refers a suspicion of food allergy. IgE mediated reactions to food are actually the best-charac...

Authors: Anna Maria Castellazzi, Chiara Valsecchi, Silvia Caimmi, Amelia Licari, Alessia Marseglia, Maria Chiara Leoni, Davide Caimmi, Michele Miraglia del Giudice, Salvatore Leonardi, Mario La Rosa and Gian Luigi Marseglia

Food protein induced enterocolitis syndrome caused by rice beverage

Food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome (FPIES) is an uncommon and potentially severe non IgE-mediated gastrointestinal food allergy. It is usually caused by cow’s milk or soy proteins, but may also be tri...

Authors: Lucia Caminiti, Giuseppina Salzano, Giuseppe Crisafulli, Federica Porcaro and Giovanni Battista Pajno

Modulation of airway epithelial cell functions by Pidotimod: NF-kB cytoplasmatic expression and its nuclear translocation are associated with an increased TLR-2 expression

Recurrent respiratory infections are one of the most important causes of morbidity in childhood. When immune functions are still largely immature, the airway epithelium plays a primary defensive role since, be...

Authors: Sonia Carta, Michela Silvestri and Giovanni A Rossi

Allergic conjunctivitis: a comprehensive review of the literature

Ocular allergy represents one of the most common conditions encountered by allergists and ophthalmologists. Allergic conjunctivitis is often underdiagnosed and consequently undertreated. Basic and clinical res...

Authors: Mario La Rosa, Elena Lionetti, Michele Reibaldi, Andrea Russo, Antonio Longo, Salvatore Leonardi, Stefania Tomarchio, Teresio Avitabile and Alfredo Reibaldi

Gastrointestinal function development and microbiota

The intestinal microbiota plays an important role in the development of post-natal gastrointestinal functions of the host. Recent advances in our capability to identify microbes and their function offer exciti...

Authors: Antonio Di Mauro, Josef Neu, Giuseppe Riezzo, Francesco Raimondi, Domenico Martinelli, Ruggiero Francavilla and Flavia Indrio