M. Miraglia Del Giudice

Double blind, placebo controlled study of nedocromil sodium in asthma.

After a two week baseline, 209 asthmatic children (mean age 10 years, range 6-17) were randomly allocated to receive 4 mg nedocromil sodium (n = 110) or placebo (n = 99) four times daily for 12 weeks in addition to their current treatment. The children completed daily diary cards and visited the clinic at four week intervals. Statistically significant differences in favour of nedocromil sodium were seen for clinician assessment of asthma severity and diary card symptom scores, pulmonary function and inhaled beta 2 bronchodilator use. Total symptom score decreased by 50% from baseline in the nedocromil sodium group and by 9% in the placebo group during the final four weeks. Nedocromil sodium was considered very or moderately effective by 78% of children/parents (placebo 59%) and 73% of clinicians (placebo 50%). Nausea, headache and sleepiness, and dyspnoea led to withdrawal of one child from nedocromil sodium and placebo treatments, respectively. Reports of sore throat and headache were marginally greater with the nedocromil sodium treatment. It is concluded that nedocromil sodium was both effective and safe in the treatment of asthma in children.

Allergic rhinitis and quality of life in children.

Allergic rhinitis is a respiratory disease caused by an inflammatory process related to IgE mediated reaction versus allergens to which the subject is sensitized. Allergic rhinitis is not an isolated disease because the nasal mucosa inflammation involves paranasal sinuses and lower airways, thus worsening the asthmatic symptoms. Recently, a new classification of allergic rhinitis based on the duration and severity of clinical symptoms has been proposed. This classification takes into consideration both the quality of life and the possible impact of the symptoms on school, work and free-time activities. Childrens quality of life is severely compromised by frequent night awakenings, easy fatigue, defects of language and irritability, which can have a negative influence on learning abilities. Allergic rhinitis has a negative impact on the quality of life of the whole family because it can cause interference on social life, and financial costs.

Nasal High-Mobility Group Box-1 Protein in Children with Allergic Rhinitis

Background: Allergic rhinitis (AR) is characterized by an inflammatory reaction. High-mobility group box-1 protein (HMGB1) has many characteristics similar to classic proinflammatory cytokines. No study has yet investigated its role in AR. The aim of this study was to measure HMGB1 levels in the fluid recovered from nasal lavage in children with untreated AR and in control subjects. Materials: The study was conducted on 104 AR subjects (48 males and 56 females, median age 10.3 ± 3.4 years) and 97 healthy children (42 males and 55 females) who were age-matched (median age 9.8 ± 4.1 years). Total serum immunoglobulin E, peripheral eosinophils and nasal symptoms assessed by visual analog scale (VAS) were considered. HMGB1 was measured using an ELISA assay. Results: HMGB1 levels in nasal lavage fluid were higher in AR children than in the control group (96.9 ± 19.3 vs. 9.27 ± 4.01 ng/ml; p < 0.001). There was a very strong relationship between HMGB1 levels and VAS values in AR children (r = 0.919). Considering the symptom severity assessed by VAS, there was a relationship between HMGB1 and VAS in all AR subgroups: more evident in the severe subgroup (r = 0.727). Conclusions: Nasal HMGB1 has significantly increased in children with AR and is significantly related to symptom severity.

Fractional exhaled nitric oxide measurements in rhinitis and asthma in children.

Exaled nitric oxide (FeNO) is considered a good noninvasive marker to assess airway inflammation in asthma and allergic rhinitis. In asthma, exhaled NO is very useful to verify adherence to therapy, and to predict upcoming asthma exacerbations. It has been also proposed that adjusting anti-inflammatory drugs guided by the monitoring of exhaled NO, could improve overall asthma control. Other studies showed increased FeNO levels in subjects with allergic rhinitis.

Adipokines and their role in allergies.

Both allergic disorders and obesity keep increasing in industrialized countries. Even though a strong association between obesity and allergy-related diseases has been reported in several studies, no published data show a scientific and firm link in-between the two conditions. In general, obesity and weight gain have been associated with an increased risk of asthma and allergic rhinitis. Asthma, allergic rhinitis and obesity have a common inflammatory pattern that could therefore justify their association. In fact, the chronic inflammation that characterizes the increase in white adipose tissue typically pushes the immune system toward a Th2 pattern. Such a polarization might, consequentially, worsen a pre-existing allergic disease or even stimulate the evolution from a sensitization to a respiratory form of allergy. Several studies have been published on the role of different adipokines on allergic diseases. We focus our review on the role of adipokines on asthma and allergic rhinitis.

Suppression of CDA II expression in a homozygote

The CDAN2 gene, responsible for congenital dyserythropoietic anaemia, type II (CDA II), was recently mapped to 20q11.2. We report data on an additional member of a previously studied CDA II family. This member had always been regarded as haematologically normal. Unexpectedly, she had the same microsatellite assortments around the CDAN2 alleles as her three sisters with CDA II. In particular, she was a homozygote for microsatellites D20S863 and D20S841. This prompted an analysis of all facets of her phenotype. The Ham test was negative. The bone marrow smears contained a normal proportion of binucleate erythroblasts. Electron microscopy revealed the absence of extensive stretches of cisternae beneath and parallel to the inner surface of the erythroblast plasma membrane. Proteins of the endoplasmic reticulum, which contaminate the reticulocyte plasma membrane in CDA II patients, were missing. Only the shape of the band 3 peak appeared slightly altered. This case exemplifies that homozygosity (or compound heterozygosity) for a deleterious gene may be silenced, or almost completely silenced. In recessively inherited diseases, suppressed phenotypes tend to be overlooked in siblings where both patients and unaffected individuals are expected.

Inhalation Therapy in Asthmatic and Not Asthmatic Children

The use of inhaled aerosols allows selective treatment of the lungs directly by achieving high drug concentrations in the airway while reducing systemic adverse effects by minimizing systemic drug levels. Aerosol drug delivery is painless and often convenient, but the proliferation of inhaler devices has resulted in a confusing number of choices for clinicians who are selecting a delivery device for aerosol therapy. There are advantages and disadvantages associated with each device category. Several factors can guide clinicians to choose a device for a specific patient. This choice has to be tailored according to the patients needs, situation and preference. Whatever the chosen inhaler, inhaler technique is the critical factor in the correct use of delivery devices and patient education has a key-role for improving technique and compliance.

Epidemiological Study of Blood Lead Levels of Children and Adolescents Living in Campania, Italy

The aim of the present study is to evaluate blood levels (PbB) in a group of 500 (245 M, 255 F) children and adolescents of Campania (Italy) aged from 0.197 to 16.915 years, 269 (136 M, 133 F) of whom lived in urban zones and 231 (109 M, 122 F) in rural zones. PbB was assayed by electrothermal atomic absorption spectroscopy. The parents of the examined subjects children were interviewed about common risk factors for lead exposure using a standardized questionnaire. The PbB of children living in urban zones were significantly higher than the PbB of those living in rural zones (60.0 +/- 3.0 mg/L vs. 40.0 +/- 2.0 mg/L, p < 0.001). A PbB higher than 100 mg/L was found in 27 children (5.4%). We observed a significant correlation between age and PbB (p < 0.001, r = 0.529). Our data regarding children and adolescents demonstrate that the prevalence of PbB higher than 100 mg/L is greater in children living in urban areas (6.89%) than in subjects living in rural areas (3.89%). The findings can be explained by the higher presence of risk factors of Pb exposure in urban areas. Our data, if compared with those of previous studies concerning children of Campania, show a clear decrease of PbB. The correlation that we found between age and PbB indicates that long-term exposure at low doses more than a more intensive but short-term exposure seems to be important for the increase of blood lead levels.

LABAs in asthmatic children: Highlights and new inside

International asthma guidelines recommend increasing the dose of ICS or adding leukotriene modifiers or the use of long-acting inhaled beta2-agonists (LABAs) in combination with inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) when uncontrolled asthma occurs in adult and children in treatment with low-dose inhaled corticosteroids. However, in children, the effects of this last treatment option are unclear because there are few studies on the efficacy and safety of these drugs in pediatric age. Furthermore, salmeterol is licensed for use in children over 4 years and formoterol in children of more than 6 years. Finally, recent data provides evidence that repeated bronchoconstriction induces epithelial cell stress that may lead to remodeling and these findings may have potential implications for asthma management, particularly for LABAs treatment in the future.