Roberta Bonaguro

In pursuit of new developments for gene therapy of human diseases

Gene therapy aims at transferring a therapeutic gene into human somatic cells in order to treat a disease. Originally addressed to hereditary genetic disorders, gene therapy has found therapeutic applications in cancer, infectious diseases and degenerative disorders, particularly those of the nervous system. Although gene transfer into humans has been demonstrated in several clinical trials, with more than 300 currently underway worldwide, there is still no single outcome that undoubtedly showed a consistent benefit for the patient. Nevertheless, the expectations for gene therapy are still high, and the prospects of future clinical success are increasing together with the growing of the field. The development of better delivery systems specifically tailored to individual diseases, with sustained expression of the therapeutic gene in the appropriate cells, will in the end make possible true therapeutic applications of human gene transfer.

Typing of Hepatitis C Virus by a New Method Based on Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism

A new restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis has been developed for hepatitis C virus (HCV) typing in the viral 5′ non-coding region and contiguous core region. These genomic sequences were chosen for the relative nucleotide homology among different genotypes and for the presence of polymorphic sites. By employing two endonucleases (AccI and MboI) and, in some instances, a third one (EcoRII), we can unambiguously and reproducibly distinguish between genotypes and subtypes 1a, 1b, 1c, 2a, 2c, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4a, 5a and 6a. The method was applied for diagnosing two Italian groups of HCV-infected individuals reflecting a randomly collected population and a group of intravenous drug users. The accuracy of this method has been validated by comparison with INNOLiPA and by sequencing. Our approach represents an improvement over previous RFLP methods, since typing is accurate and simpler.

Oral immunotherapy with low allergenic hydrolysed egg in egg allergic children

A major drawback of oral immunotherapy for food allergy is the possibility of severe side‐effects. We assessed both safety and efficacy of a low allergenic hydrolysed egg (HydE) preparation used in a double‐blind placebo‐controlled randomized study in egg allergic children.

Psychological care of food-allergic children and their families: an exploratory analysis.

inflammation, AR, and asthma. Thus, this study might suggest that a FeNO value >34 p.p.b., such as pathological, may predict future asthma onset with good reliability in AR children. Therefore, all these previous studies were consistent with the present report, confirming the role of FeNO as marker of bronchial impairment. On the contrary, lung function assessment was not able to predict asthma onset in all children, also those with high FeNO values. This fact highlights the possible capability of FeNO as potential candidate of predictive marker for asthma onset in AR patients. However, this study has a main limitation, such as the restricted number of children, who were enrolled. In conclusion, this study provides a preliminary evidence that FeNO may predict with fair capability the risk of asthma onset in children with AR alone. Therefore, a simple FeNO measurement could suggest relevant information about possible bronchial involvement in AR.

School personnel's self‐efficacy in managing food allergy and anaphylaxis

Food allergy affects up to 4–7% European schoolchildren. Studies identified important shortcomings on food allergy and anaphylaxis management in schools. In social cognitive theory, personal beliefs in own capabilities influence choices, effort levels, perseverance and performance accomplishments. This study aimed to investigate school personnels self‐efficacy in managing food allergy and anaphylaxis, providing a valid instrument to deeply understand how to support schools to effectively manage students at risk of food reactions.

Multidimensional analysis of food-allergic children and adolescents’ self-concept: A comparison with a healthy matched sample:

The study investigated self-concept in food-allergic youths and matched healthy controls. Global and domain-specific self-concepts were assessed in 154 participants (9–19 years) using the Multidimensional Self-Concept Scale. Statistical analysis assessed differences between the two samples and effects of asthma, dermatitis, age, and gender among patients. Significant differences were found for Total Scale score and for Competence and Physical scores. Patients showed clinically problematic self-concepts in Global, Competence, and Family domains. Age was found to be associated with the Total score. Health professionals should consider food-allergic patients’ personality development. Further studies could examine disease-specific consequences and interventions.

Bullying risk in students with food allergy: schoolteachers' awareness

Bullying is demonstrated to be a critical issue related to food allergy (FA) in children and adolescents. We recently investigated bullying victimization in a sample of food-allergic Italian students matched to healthy controls, finding that food-allergic schoolchildren have a probability of being bullied approximately 2 times higher than healthy peers. 60% of them reported they were victims of some form of bullying at least once in the last 2 months, demonstrating that food-allergic patients should be included in the category of students at high risk of bullying. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. Language: en

Perinatal stress and food allergy: a preliminary study on maternal reports.

Maternal stress in fetal and early life has been associated with the development of respiratory allergies, but no studies exist about food allergy. Stressful events and the quality of caregiving provided, as they affect the emotional and physiologic regulation of the infant, could alter the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal and immune system, facilitating an increased allergic response. This study aimed to investigate the influence of perinatal stress, as perceived by mothers, on developing food allergy in childhood. A survey on pregnancy and the first three months after giving birth was submitted to 59 Italian mothers of at least one child suffering from severe food allergy and one completely healthy child, for a total of 118 children examined. The presence of stressful events and the quality of perinatal period for each child were assessed retrospectively. The food allergic children’s data were compared to siblings’ data through inferential statistics. The results showed a significantly higher number of stressful events occurred during patients’ perinatal period, compared to siblings, in particular bereavements in pregnancy and parenting difficulties in postpartum. Mothers reported harder pregnancies and more stressful, harder, and, in general, worse postpartum when referring to their food-allergic children, in comparison with their siblings (p < .05). Psychological aspects are demonstrated to be involved in the development of allergic diseases. This study constitutes the first step to examine the role of early stress and perinatal psychosocial factors in the pathogenesis of food allergy; further studies are necessary to understand individual psychological impact and its relations with genetic and biological factors.

Food allergy and attitudes to close interpersonal relationships: an exploratory study on attachment

Food allergy is a common immunologic disease that includes potentially fatal reactions. It impacts considerably on patients’ social life including close interpersonal relationships. Attachment theory provides a theoretic framework to evaluate the quality of close interpersonal relationships in chronic disorders. Attachment insecurity, mainly characterized by attachment avoidance, has been found in a variety of health conditions, but still needs to be investigated in food allergy. The study aimed to investigate attachment, as attitude to close interpersonal relationships, among food‐allergic young patients, compared to healthy controls.

Gene Therapy of Glioblastoma Multiforme with a Bicistronic Retroviral Vector Expressing Human IL-2 and HSV-tK.

Gene therapy of cancer includes strategies for augmentation of immunotherapeutic and chemoterapeutic approaches. These strategies mainly involve ex vivo and in vivo cytokine gene transfer, drug sensitization with genes for prodrug delivery, and the use of drug-resistance genes for protecting bone marrow from high-dose chemotherapy (1). Vector development remains the primary focus for any future research in the field. Retroviral vectors, especially those derived from Moloney murine leukemia virus (MoMLV), remain among the most widely utilized vectors in gene therapy trials.