Targeting Interleukin-5 or Interleukin-5Rα: Safety Considerations.

Asthma is a highly prevalent chronic disease of the airways; approximately 10% of patients with asthma will experience a severe form of the disease. New understanding of the pathogenesis of asthma has enabled the development of novel drugs and provided hope for patients with asthma. Interleukin (IL)-5 and IL-5 receptor subunit α (IL-5-Rα) plays a crucial role in the development, maturation, and operation of eosinophils so were the first important therapeutic target of these new drugs.

Personalized Medicine in Allergy.

Allergic disease is among the most common pathologies worldwide and its prevalence has constantly increased up to the present days, even if according to the most recent data it seems to be slightly slowing down. Allergic disease has not only a high rate of misdiagnosis and therapeutic inefficacy, but represents an enormous, resource-absorbing black hole in respiratory and general medicine. The aim of this paper is to summarize principal therapeutic innovations in atopic disease management befallen in the recent years in terms of personalized/precision medicine.

Metatarsal lengthening by callotasis during the growth phase.

Congenital or acquired shortness of a metatarsal may cause pain in adjacent metatarsals. From 1983 to 1990, we performed nine metatarsal lengthenings in seven adolescent patients by metaphyseal osteotomy followed by gradual distraction of callus (callotasis). Two patients required bone grafts after the lengthening.

Dynamic orthopaedic brace in the treatment of ankle sprains.

Ankle sprains may lead to disabling sequelae such as joint instability and persistent pain. Immobilization with plaster cast may give rise to joint stiffness and muscle atrophy. Twenty patients with acute inversion sprains of the ankle were treated with a "dynamic" orthopaedic brace after a 10-day plaster immobilization.

The surgical correction of metatarsal dysmetria.

The authors report the results of surgical correction in 5 cases of metatarsal dysmetria; lengthening in 3 cases and shortening in 2 cases. Lengthening was achieved by gradual distraction without using grafts. External mini-fixators were used which could be either lengthened by a sliding mechanism for distraction or used in compression in the case of shortening.

Use of ceftazidime in the treatment of osteomyelitis and osteoarthritis.

The authors report the results obtained with the use of ceftazidime, administered by various methods, in 18 cases of orthopedic infections (osteomyelitis, arthritis). The results, which are regarded as good, are stable over time. The antibiotic therapy proves particularly efficacious in those cases subjected to appropriate surgical treatment.