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F Della Torre

Publications and source records attributed to F Della Torre.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

Some doubts of the allergist.

The authors examine and discuss some controversial points of allergologic literature concerning immunomodulation, pathogenesis, hygiene hypothesis, mixture of vaccines and treatment schedules.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗
PubMed1998

Effect of zinc or zinc plus arginine supplementation on antibody titre and lymphocyte subsets after influenza vaccination in elderly subjects: a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: to evaluate whether oral supplementation with zinc or zinc/arginine increases the antibody response to influenza vaccine or modulates the lymphocyte phenotype in elderly subjects. DESIGN: a randomized controlled trial with two supplemented groups and one control group. SETTING: a community nursing home. PARTICIPANTS: 384 subjects aged 64-100 (mean age 82 years) examined in three separate studies. INTERVENTION: oral supplementation with zinc (400 mg/day) or zinc plus arginine (4 g/day) for 60 days starting 15 days before influenza vaccination. The control groups received vaccine only. MEASUREMENTS: haematological and nutritional indices, antibody titre against influenza viral antigens, lymphocyte phenotype. RESULTS: supplementation with zinc or zinc plus arginine increased zinc plasma concentrations restoring the age-related impairment in zinc concentrations to values found in younger people. The antibody titre against influenza viral antigens was not increased in zinc or zinc/arginine supplemented groups in comparison with subjects receiving vaccine alone. The number of CD3, CD4 or CD8 lymphocytes was not affected by zinc or zinc/arginine supplementation. CONCLUSION: prolonged supplementation with zinc or zinc/arginine restores zinc plasma concentrations but is ineffective in inducing or ameliorating the antibody response after influenza vaccination in elderly subjects.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

Preseasonal intranasal immunotherapy in birch-alder allergic rhinitis. A double-blind study.

A double-blind, placebo-controlled study was carried out to test the clinical efficacy and safety of local nasal immunotherapy (LNIT) in powder form. Twenty-two patients suffering from allergic rhinitis strictly associated with early spring symptoms, with positive skin prick tests and RAST for birch-alder, all responders to a specific nasal provocation test (NPT), received randomly active or placebo treatment for 4 months. Immunotherapy consisted of administration of a set of capsules containing progressively increasing amounts of birch (Betula pendula) and speckled alder (Alnus incana) allergens in powder form with controlled granulometry. The active (birch-alder) and placebo (lactose) group completed the treatment according to a similar schedule. During the pollen season (March-April), the patients who took the active treatment reported less sneezing and rhinorrhea than the placebo group, on the basis of a symptoms score, and the differences were statistically significant; the need for drugs (terfenadine) was also significantly reduced. These findings agreed well with the results of specific NPT after the treatment; only patients in the active group had a higher threshold dose of nasal specific reactivity to birch-alder allergens than in tests before the LNIT.

Administration, Intranasal↗
PubMed1990

Trace metal lung diseases: a new fatal case of hard metal pneumoconiosis.

Four subjects working in sharpening and grinding operations of hard metal tools were examined. Only 1 worker, a 37-year-old female exposed for 7 years to hard metal dusts, developed hard metal pneumoconiosis, which rapidly progressed to death. Cytology of the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) showed a high number of eosinophils, more than 30% of the cell population. Biopsy of the lung revealed interstitial fibrosis with hyperplasia of the pneumocytes of the second type and inflammatory cellular infiltration of the interstitium. High tungsten (W) and tantalum concentrations were determined in the admission BAL and in the biopsy 4 months later by neutron activation analysis while cobalt (Co) levels were near to normal values. The content of Co and W in blood and urine and particularly in pubic hair and toe nails of the patients was significantly higher than the normal values. This suggests that these biological specimens could be used as indicators of chronic exposure to hard metal dusts.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Efficacy and safety of enoxacin in the treatment of respiratory infections.

The present report concerns an open clinical trial aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of enoxacin (Zami 8401), a new quinolone drug, in bacterial infections of the lower respiratory tract. A total of 30 hospital in patients, 25 males and 5 females, of a mean age of 67 years (range 39-84 years), suffering from bronchopneumonia, or acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis, were treated. Enoxacin was administered at the dose of 800 mg twice daily by the oral route. As a rule the patients received the drug for ten days. Efficacy was assessed on the basis of radiological, bacteriological and clinical changes. Tolerance was monitored by the daily recording of any sign or symptom possibly related with the drug as well as by laboratory tests performed before, during and after the treatment. Efficacy was excellent in 80%, good in 17%, poor in 3% of the patients. Tolerance was excellent in all except one patient. Enoxacin appears a very effective and safe drug in the treatment of the infections of the lower respiratory tract.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Effect of long-term treatment with sodium cromoglycate on non-specific bronchial hyperreactivity in non-atopic patients with chronic bronchitis.

Reduction in non-specific bronchial hyperreactivity has been reported in atopic asthmatic patients as a consequence of long-term treatment with sodium cromoglycate. As bronchial hyperreactivity is an undesirable feature in other forms of obstructive airways disease, we examined the effect of regular treatment with sodium cromoglycate (20 mg, 4 times daily, for 30 days) in a group of non-atopic bronchitic subjects who showed a significant bronchoconstrictor response to the inhalation of ultrasonically nebulised distilled water (fog challenge). After 30 days treatment with sodium cromoglycate, there was a significant reduction in response to fog challenge, compared with pretreatment values. There was a washout period of 12 h between the administration of the last dose of sodium cromoglycate and the second fog challenge. The possible mechanisms involved and the clinical significance of these findings are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

[The effect of respiratory mechanics on the hematocrit. III. Study in patients with bronchopulmonary disease treated with intermittent positive pressure inhalation therapy].

The Authors studied the behaviour of lung volumes and mechanics and of haematocrit after intermittent pulmonary positive pressure breathing (IPPB) in patients with chronic obstructive lung disease. An improvement of obstructive sindrome at 10'-20'-40' and a contemporary decreasing of haematocrit were observed. This statistically significant modification was regarded as an expression of a different distribution of blood in lung vessels dued to an increasing of this vascular compliance and to a decrease of alveolar inflation. The Authors postulate the realization of a better circulation in lung vessels which contributes to a lowering of haematocrit in these patients perhaps for a different VA/Ob ratio.

Hematocrit↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Sensitization to cockroach in Italy: a multicentric study.

The prevalence of sensitization to cockroach (CR) was evaluated by skin prick test (SPT) in 1299 patients consecutively referred for rhinitis and asthma to five allergy centers in northern, central, and southern Italy. In patients with positive SPT to CR, an SPT with D. pteronyssinus extract was made. RAST inhibition was performed with pooled sera of subjects with positive SPT and RAST of at least Class 3 for CR and D. Pteronyssinus, to assess the cross-reactivity between these two allergenic sources. The protein content of allergen extracts was assayed by isoelectric focusing (IEF). A total of 170 patients (13%) had a positive SPT with CR extract, and 133 of them (78.2%) were also positive for D. pteronyssinus. RAST inhibition showed a cross-reactivity between CR and D. pteronyssinus, and IEF detected in the extracts employed a series of bands focusing at the same pI of CR and D. pteronyssinus relevant allergens. Therefore, the prevalence of sensitization to CR in the population studied, corresponding to 13%, suggests that CR extract might be added to standard SPT panels for respiratory allergy. However, the cross-reactivity with D. pteronyssinus calls for careful evaluation of the clinical importance of this sensitization.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Multicenter double-blind comparative study of terfenadine and cetirizine in hay fever.

The efficacy and safety of terfenadine in the management of hay fever were compared with those of cetirizine in a multicenter, double-blind, parallel-group study, carried out during the 1990 spring pollen season. The patients were randomly assigned to one of two groups of treatment, 70 patients being given terfenadine 120 mg, and 72 patients cetirizine 10 mg, once daily for 7 days. The severity of the main symptoms was evaluated at baseline and after treatment by a 4-point rating scale. In addition, the overall symptom severity was recorded daily by the patient on a diary card. Both terfenadine and cetirizine produced significant relief of symptoms by the end of treatment, with a decrease in symptom severity ranging from 46 to 69% for terfenadine and from 40 to 55% for cetirizine. Adverse effects experienced by terfenadine- and cetirizine-treated patients were mainly drowsiness, with minor differences between the two groups. The results of this study confirmed previous experiences, showing that both terfenadine and cetirizine once daily should be regarded as effective drugs for the management of hay fever.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Effects of oxygen inhalation therapy on blood and phonomechanography in patients with heart disease, lung disease and cardiorespiratory insufficiency].

Arterial PaO2 and some phonomechanographic indices were studied during and after a period of 40-60-100% oxygen breathing in fourteen patients (six with pulmonary insufficiency, four with cardiac disease and four with cardiorespiratory insufficiency). Arterial PaO2 was measured at the beginning, every five minutes during and many times after the ventilation. Myocardial performance was also measured by sistolic time: isovolumetric contraction time, left ventricular expulsive time, preejection pressure, deformation time. The authors discuss the modifications of these indices and the clinical involvement of O2 breathing.

Aged↗