Potential effect of PCV13 introduction on Emergency Department accesses for lower respiratory tract infections in elderly and at risk adults.

Liguria, an administrative region in northern Italy characterized by a decade of high PCV coverage in paediatric age group, has issued new PCV13 recommendations for free active immunization in adults with risk factors and subjects aged ≥ 70 years old. Main aims of this study are: (1) a descriptive epidemiology of the clinical burden of lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) in adults ≥18 years of age; and (2) a crossover evaluation of the effect of introduction of PCV13 vaccination in adults aged ≥70 years old, in terms of ED accesses for LRTI, obtained by a Syndrome Surveillance System (SSS). The ED access, chief complaint based SSS will allow an active surveillance of a population cohort of >430 000 individuals resident in Genoa metropolitan area, aged ≥18 years old, for a period of 60 months.

Cross-protection against drifted influenza viruses: options offered by adjuvanted and intradermal vaccines.

Antigenic drift, the evolutionary mechanism of influenza viruses, results in an increased susceptibility of vaccinated subjects against circulating viruses. New vaccines able to grant a broader and cross-reactive immune response against drifted influenza variants are needed. Several strategies were explored to enhance the immunogenicity of plain vaccines: adjuvants, carriers and intradermal administration of influenza vaccine emerge as a promising options.

Carriage of Streptoccoccus pneumoniae in healthy adults aged 60 years or over in a population with very high and long-lasting pneumococcal conjugate vaccine coverage in children: rationale and perspectives for PCV13 implementation.

A serial cross-sectional study of nasopharyngeal carriage among adults aged 60 y or over was conducted in winter-spring 2012 with the aim to describe circulating Streptococcus pneumoniae in an area, Liguria Administrative Region, where the vaccine was implemented for a decade and coverage in pediatric age group reached a value close to 100% for more than 5 y, determining a picture of very high vaccine immunological pressure. The serotype-specific carriage picture in adults was compared with that observed in children by means of a cross-sectional study performed one year before using the same sampling and laboratory methods.   Cluster sampling enrolled 283 adults, representative of the open population.

Intanza(®) 15 mcg intradermal influenza vaccine elicits cross-reactive antibody responses against heterologous A(H3N2) influenza viruses.

The aim of the present study was to explore the ability of Intanza(®) 15 μg, the intradermal (ID) trivalent inactivated split-virion influenza vaccine containing 15 μg hemagglutinin per strain, to enhance the antibody responses against heterologous circulating H3N2 strains in adults 60 years and older. During the 2006-2007 influenza season, subjects aged 60 years or older were randomly assigned to receive one dose of ID or an intramuscular (IM, Vaxigrip(®)) influenza vaccine, which contained the reassortant A/Wisconsin/67/05(H3N2) strain as the H3N2 component. Antibody responses were assessed against the homologous vaccine strain, against the A/Brisbane/10/07(H3N2) reassortant strain and against four heterologous H3N2 field isolates (A/Genoa/62/05(H3N2), A/Genoa/3/07(H3N2), A/Genoa/2/07(H3N2), A/Genoa/3/06(H3N2)).

Current evidence on intradermal influenza vaccines administered by Soluvia™ licensed micro injection system.

Among the several strategies explored for (1) the enhancement of the immune response to influenza immunization, (2) the improvement of the vaccine acceptability and (3) the overcoming of the egg-dependency for vaccine production, intradermal administration of influenza vaccine emerges as a promising alternative to conventional intramuscular route, thanks to the recent availability of new delivery devices and the perception of advantages in terms of immunogenicity, safety, reduction of antigen content and acceptability. Data from clinical trials performed in children, adults < 60 y and elderly people and post-marketing surveillance demonstrate that actually, licensed intradermal influenza vaccines, Intanza™ 9 and 15 µg and Fluzone™ Intradermal, administered by the microinjection system Soluvia™, show an excellent acceptability, tolerability and safety profile. Formulations containing 9 and 15 μg per strain demonstrate, respectively, comparable and superior immunogenicity than conventional intramuscular vaccines.

Mesenchymal stem cells ameliorate experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis inducing T-cell anergy.

We studied the immunoregulatory features of murine mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in vitro and in vivo. MSCs inhibited T-cell receptor (TCR)-dependent and -independent proliferation but did not induce apoptosis on T cells. Such inhibition was paired with a decreased interferon (IFN)-gamma and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha production and was partially reversed by interleukin-2 (IL-2).