Elena Businco

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 < < 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 <0.005), and even higher was that of those born in March‐May with grass sensitivity (P< < 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.

Systemic mastocytosis in a 5-year-old child: successful treatment with disodium cromoglycate

Most clinical signs and symptoms of systemic mastocytosis (SM) are attributed to histamine release. We report here a 5‐year‐old male child with SM, who suffered from the age of 4 months from disseminated skin lesions, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, flushing, tachycardia, hypotension, somnolence, and transient blindness, triggered by heat and egg ingestion. Oral disodium cromoglycate (DSCG) or placebo were started in a single blind trial at a dose of 100 mg/kg/day in four divided doses. The child was studied for 21 months during the administration of three courses of DSCG, each of 6 months’ duration, interspersed with three 1‐month courses of placebo. During treatment with DSCG all the systemic manifestations improved, and the histaminaemia decreased. During the placebo periods the symptoms, signs, and histaminaemia recurred.

Intradermal skin tests with Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus in asthmatic children: correlation with specific IgE and bronchial provocation tests.

The purpose of the present study was to compare the results of the skin tests, the specific IgE levels and bronchial provocation tests in a group of sensitive asthmatic children with a Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus extract standardized by the RAST inhibition method. Skin tests showed a positive ‘end point’ in twelve children of 0.5 U/ml antigen; in eleven 5 U/ml; seven of 50 U/ml; six of 500 U/ml. Specific IgE was present in thirty‐three children (92%). A close relationship between positive skin tests and serum IgE levels was found. Bronchial provocation tests were positive in twenty‐eight children (78%): eight children with both positive RAST and positive skin tests had negative bronchial provocation tests.

Anti-host histological reactions in an ape kidney transplanted into man.

The biological border of the body lies in the capillaries. In fact, that is where the various stimuli, carried by the blood stream, come into decisive contact with the body cells, at the moment when they pass through the vessel walls. The morphology of histo-capillary unit includes basically: the capillary vessel endothelial membrane, also the histio-connective pericapillary layer. Such a histio-connective layer is made up of a cell section and a connective one. These cells had been endowed by some early morphologists with an obscure function of support and movement, whereas the same cells now have been shown by the very latest histology investigations to play a most important role in the development of body reactivity, particularly the immunizing one. The capillary wall cells are usually found to belong to the histiocyte, fibroblastic pattern and also presenting, under certain circumstances, basophyl and eosinophyl granules.