Camilla Celani

High‐mobility group box‐1 (HMGB‐1) and serum soluble receptor for advanced glycation end products (sRAGE) in children affected by vernal keratoconjunctivitis

Vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) is a chronic disease affecting conjunctiva even though the immunopathogenetic mechanisms underlying this inflammation are unclear. The aim of our study is to investigate serum levels of HMGB1 and circulating sRAGE in children affected by VKC before and after treatment with cyclosporine A (CsA) eye drops and in a group of healthy children.

Treating allergic rhinitis by sublingual immunotherapy: a review

OBJECTIVE Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a disease with high and increasing prevalence. The management of AR includes allergen avoidance, anti-allergic drugs, and allergen specific immunotherapy (AIT), but only the latter works on the causes of allergy and, due to its mechanisms of action, modifies the natural history of the disease. Sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) was proposed in the 1990s as an option to traditional, subcutaneous immunotherapy. MATERIAL AND METHODS We reviewed all the available controlled trials on the efficacy and safety of SLIT. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION Thus far, more than 60 trials, globally evaluated in 6 meta-analyses, showed that SLIT is an effective and safe treatment for AR. However, it must be noted that to expect clinical efficacy in the current practice SLIT has to be performed following the indications from controlled trials, that is, sufficiently high doses to be regularly administered for at least 3 consecutive years.

Pathogenesis of Vernal Keratoconjunctivitis and Associated Factors

Abstract Aim: To investigate the role of some variables, including allergy and autoimmunity, in the pathogenesis of vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC). The VKC is a chronic and often severe form of bilateral keratoconjunctivitis. Usually, it begins during the first decade and disappears during the end of the second decade of life. Materials and methods: 26 patients with VKC were selected. The diagnosis was performed by the ophthalmologist through a score based on ocular signs and subjective symptoms before and after administration of 1% cyclosporine A (Cy) eyedrops. Each variable was graded: 0 = absent; 1 = mild; 2 = moderate; 3 = severe. Patients with a total score ≥7 were included in the study. Blood samples were collected at the initial time for the determination of autoimmunity by total IgE and antinuclear antibodies (ANA). A Skin Prick Test (SPT) was performed on each patient to common inhalants and food allergens. Results: 53.8% of the children resulted atopic. The most important allergens were house dust mites and grasses. 46.1% of the patients showed total IgE >100 UI/ml and 30.8% had ANA positivity at the first determination. The photophobia occurred in 42.3% of children, most frequently with respect to other symptoms like secretion or tearing (30.8%), foreign body sensation (15.4%), itching and conjunctival hyperemia (11.5%). Conclusions: Fortunately all children improved their symptoms after Cy eyedrop therapy. Moreover, there was an elevated percentage (30.8%) of children with ANA positivity compared with the values in the general pediatric population. Despite the fact that it is a non-specific autoantibody, its high presence in a population of children with VKC may have an important role in clarifying etiopathogenesis and chronic inflammation.

Pathophysiology, favoring factors, and associated disorders in otorhinosinusology

To cite this article: Gelardi M, Marchisio P, Caimmi D, Incorvaia C, Albertario G, Bianchini S, Caimmi S, Celani C, Esposito S, Fattizzo M, Fiorella ML, Frati F, Labò E, Leo G, Licari A, Marseglia A, Piacentini E, Pignataro L, Quaranta N, Tenconi R, Torretta S, Marseglia GL, Principi N. Pathophysiology, favoring factors, and associated disorders in otorhinosinusology. Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2012: 23 (Suppl. 22): 5–16.

Habitual snoring and atopic state: correlations with respiratory function and teeth occlusion

BackgroundAllergy represents a risk factor at the base of sleep-disordered breathing in pediatric age. Among allergic diseases, the atopy is characterized by a tendency to be “hyperallergic.” Sleep-disordered breathing is also known in orthodontics as correlated with the morphology of craniofacial complex. The aim of this study was to investigate the relation between atopy and sleep-disordered breathing (oral breathers with habitual snoring), comparing atopic children with sleep-disordered breathing (test group) with nonatopic ones with sleep-disordered breathing (control group), in the prevalence of dento-skeletal alterations and other risk factors that trigger sleep-disordered breathing, such as adenotonsillar hypertrophy, turbinate hypertrophy, obesity, and alteration of oxygen arterial saturation.MethodsIn a group of 110 subjects with sleep-disordered breathing (6 to 12 years old), we grouped the subjects into atopic (test group, 60 subjects) and nonatopic (control group, 50 subjects) children and compared the data on the following: skin allergic tests, rhinoscopy, rhinomanometry, night home pulsoxymetry, body mass index, and dento-facial alterations.ResultsEven if our results suggest that atopy is not a direct risk factor for sleep-disordered breathing, the importance of a physiologic nasal respiration in the pathogenesis of sleep-disordered breathing seems to be demonstrated in our study by the higher prevalence of hypertrophy in the adenotonsillar lymphatic tissue, odontostomatological alterations, alterations of the oxygen saturation to pulsoxymetry, and higher prevalence of obesity observed in our children with sleep-disordered breathing, in percentages higher than that of the general pediatric population previously observed in the literature.ConclusionsThe importance of a physiologic nasal respiration in the pathogenesis of sleep-disordered breathing is demonstrated in our study.

Habitual snoring in children with previous allergic sensitization.

Previous studies have reported a high prevalence of allergy in children with Habitual Snoring (HS), but the relationship between allergy in the early years of life and the subsequent development of this Sleep Disordered Breathing (SDB) is yet to be elucidated. The purpose of the present study was to determine the role of early, under 36 months of age, allergic sensitization to food (with or without sensitization to airborne allergens) in determining the development of HS 8–10 years after. One hundred and fortyeight children (10–14 years, mean age 12 years) with a history of food allergy were selected. Under the age of 36 months, atopic status was assessed by skin prick test for a panel of airborne and food allergens. Questionnaires filled in by parents were used to collect information on childrens snoring and associated symptoms. HS was defined as snoring three or more times per week. At 1–3 years of age 54 (36.5%) children were positive to food allergens alone, and 94 (63.5%) were positive also to airborne allergens. After 8–10 years of life, when patients were aged between 10 and 14 years, habitual snoring was reported in 37 (25%) children. Furthermore, among the 54 children under three years of age sensitized only to food, 8 (14.8%) became HS while of the 94 children sensitized to both food and inhalants allergens 29 (30.9%) developed HS. The difference between those two groups was statistically significant (p=0.04). We reported a significant risk of developing HS in children with early allergic sensitization. Specifically this risk was higher when food allergy was associated with inhalant allergy. The onset of upper airway inflammation due to allergic triggers in subjects under three years of age may be related to the subsequent development of SDB after 8–10 years.

Long-term renal function and hypertension in adult survivors of childhood sarcoma: Single center experience

Abstract Aim: Little data is available on long-term renal impairment in survivors from childhood sarcoma. We investigated the prevalence of renal impairment and hypertension after very long-term follow-up in survivors who reached adulthood after treatment for childhood sarcoma. Methods: A cross-sectional single center study was performed. Outcomes included estimating glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), albuminuria, glycosuria, serum phosphate and magnesium, tubular reabsorption phosphate (TRP), chronic kidney disease (CKD) according to the “Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes” (KDIGO) guidelines and blood pressure (BP). Results: Out of 87 > 5-year sarcoma survivors, 30 adults (10F/20M, median age at diagnosis 9 years, median age at investigation 26 years, median follow-up 16 years, mean 19 years) were identified. Renal impairment was detected in four cases (13.3%); three of these fulfilled the criteria for CKD. Among the adult survivors, a subgroup of 15 cases (50%) had received ifosfamide without confounding factors such as a diagnosis of genito-urinary rhabdomyosarcoma or administration of other potentially nephrotoxic chemotherapy (platinum-based drugs or methotrexate); no renal dysfunction was detected in this subgroup. In the whole cohort of sarcoma survivors, hypertension was diagnosed in four cases (13.3%); BP was significantly correlated with body mass index [p .014]. Conclusion: In our series of adult survivors treated for a diagnosis of sarcoma in their childhood, the prevalence of CKD was 10%. We found survivors treated with ifosfamide as the only nephrotoxic agent did not present glomerular or tubular toxicity at long term follow-up, but further studies including a larger number of cases are required to confirm it.

Probiotics Usage in Childhood Helicobacter pylori Infection

In both developed and developing countries, Helicobacter pylori is most frequently acquired during childhood. Standard triple therapy has been the recommended first-line therapy since the first guidelines for H. pylori infection in children were published. Over the last decade, however, the success of such eradication therapy has declined, in part due to the development of H. pylori resistance. Because the infection is common and may have serious consequences, alternative anti- H. pylori treatments have recently received attention. One of the potential therapies is probiotic cultures; promising results have been observed in initial studies with numerous probiotic strains. In this chapter, we comprehensively review the mechanisms of action of probiotics on H. pylori infection and present the results of published studies in children using probiotics as possible agents to control H. pylori infection. The effect of the addition of probiotics to the standard H. pylori eradication therapy for the prevention of antibiotic associated side effects is also discussed.