5-grass pollen tablets achieve disease control in patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis unresponsive to drugs: a real-life study.

Background: An important subpopulation in allergic rhinitis is represented by patients with severe form of disease that is not responsive to drug treatment. It has been reported that grass pollen subcutaneous immunotherapy is effective in drug-resistant patients. In a real-life study, we evaluated the efficacy of 5-grass pollen tablets in patients with grass pollen-induced allergic rhinitis not responsive to drug therapy.

Rubella antibody screening during pregnancy in an urban area of Northern Italy.

Various countries have implemented anti-rubella vaccination campaigns with the main aim of preventing congenital infection. In 2003, Italy joined the European WHO programme for the elimination of congenital rubella and issued a special healthcare plan, one of the objectives of which was to reduce the proportion of rubella-susceptible pregnant women to less than 5% by 2005. The aim of this study was to determine the percentage of seronegative pregnant women after the implementation of this plan.

Negative Atopy Patch Test and Negative Skin Prick Test Reduce the Need for Oral Food Challenge in Children with Atopic Dermatitis.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is commonly associated with food allergy. Oral food challenge is the gold standard in the diagnosis of food allergy, but still has some troubles. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether a single test among skin prick test (SPT), measurement of specific immunoglobulin E (IgE), and atopy patch test (APT) or a combination of them could make food challenges unnecessary in patients with AD.

[Changes in dynamic respiratory volumes in obese children and adolescents related to weight loss and sex].

Obesity is associated with various alterations in lung function in adults. These alterations appear to be proportional to the degree of EP and the beneficial effect of weight loss on respiratory function has been reported. Therefore, in 35 children and adolescents affected by essential obesity of medium-severe degree, we have evaluated the following parameters: FVC (forced vital capacity), PEF (peak expiratory flow), FEV1 (forced expiratory volume), FEV75, FEV50, FEV25, before and after six months of dieting.

[Induced hypoglycemia. A unusual case of child battering].

We describe a case of Munchausen's syndrome by proxy in a 12 years old child. The administration of glibenclamide by the mother led to severe hypoglycemias in the child, who underwent various instrumental researches and a subtotal pancreatectomy before the final diagnosis could be reached. The diagnosis also was possible with the substantial help of an accurate psychological survey.