Basophil Membrane Expression of Epithelial Cytokine Receptors in Patients with Severe Asthma.

Background: Severe asthma is a heterogeneous disease, which is characterized by airway damage and remodeling. All triggers of asthma, such as allergens, bacteria, viruses, and pollutants, interact with the airway epithelial cells, which drive the airway inflammatory response through the release of cytokines, particularly IL-25, IL-33, and thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP).

Objectives And Methods: To investigate whether the expression of the IL-25, IL-33, and TSLP receptors on the basophil membrane are associated with asthma severity.

Anxiety and Depression Effects During Drug Provocation Test.

Background: Drug provocation test (DPT) represents the gold standard for the diagnosis of drug allergy. A DPT can be performed in a single-blind placebo-controlled manner. In anxiety and depressive disorders, patients need to be evaluated to understand the nature of placebo reactions.

Regulation of B-cell-activating factor expression on the basophil membrane of allergic patients.

Background: To investigate the modulation of B-cell-activating factor (BAFF) expression on the basophil membrane of allergic patients. BAFF is an important regulator of B-cell activation, proliferation and immunoglobulin production, which may play a role in respiratory allergic diseases in promoting the production of IgE by B cells.

Methods: Peripheral blood samples of 10 patients with allergic rhinitis, 3 with severe asthma and fungal sensitization (SAFS), 3 with allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) and 11 healthy controls were assessed regarding BAFF (CD257) expression using the basophil activation test before and after stimulation with IgE and allergens, as well IgE-independent stimuli, like fMLP, lipotheichoic acid from Staphylococcus aureus (LTA-SA) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS).

Acute urticaria presenting in the emergency room of a general hospital.

Background: Acute urticaria is a common disorder that often prompts patients to seek treatment in the emergency room (ER). There are few data on acute urticaria presenting in ER.

Objectives: This study aimed to provide demographic and clinical data of patients presenting with acute urticaria at an ER of an Italian general hospital covering an area of about 90,000 inhabitants.

Incidence of food anaphylaxis in Piemonte region (Italy): data from registry of Center for Severe Allergic Reactions.

There are wide differences in estimated incidence and prevalence of anaphylaxis because of the absence, until recently, of a universal consensus on the definition of anaphylaxis and the different source of collected data. We aimed to estimate the incidence of food anaphylaxis based on the database of Piemonte Region (Italy) Reference Center for Severe Allergic Reactions. All cases of severe food allergic reactions reported in 2010 were studied.

Itraconazole as 'bridge therapy' to anti-IgE in a patient with severe asthma with fungal sensitisation.

Sensitisation to fungi has been reported to play an important role in a particular phenotype of severe asthma, the so-called severe asthma with fungal sensitisation, characterised by high levels of total IgE, which may be an obstacle to anti-IgE therapy. We describe here the case of a polysensitised woman with refractory asthma, sensitised to Aspergillus fumigatus with high total IgE values (1793 kUA/l), but without the diagnostic criteria for allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis. Additional therapy with itraconazole leads to the decrease of total IgE to the limits recommended for proper omalizumab dosing (30-1500 kUA/l).