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Biomedical subjects

V Monafo

Publications and source records attributed to V Monafo.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Recurrent extended HLA haplotypes in children with selective IgA deficiency.

HLA supratypes as well as serum IgG, IgA and IgM levels were determined in 44 children and adolescents with severe IgA deficiency (serum IgA less than 5 mg/dl) and in first degree relatives. Frequencies of the HLA alleles B14, DR1, DQW1, C4A2 and C4B2 were significantly higher in the IgA-deficient patients than in the controls. The most recurrent haplotype among patients was B14, DR1 (p less than 10(-4) preferentially associated with A33, A28 or A blank. The supratype B14, Bfs, C4A2, C4B2, DR1, DQW1 was present in a 14-fold higher frequency than in the controls, and strongly suggests the presence of a gene in the HLA region involved in the deficiency of IgA. The fact that this supratype was not always associated with IgA deficiency in the parents and that not all IgA-deficient subjects had this supratype is discussed. Severe IgA deficiency was found in four mothers (two of the four mother-child pairs shared the B14, DR1 haplotype); three other relatives (one father and two brothers) had partial IgA deficiency and did not have the B14, DR1, DQW1 haplotype.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

[Clinical evaluation of letosteine activity in the treatment of acute febrile bronchitis in children. Double-blind controlled study versus placebo].

A double blind vs placebo study was carried out to study the effect of letosteine on the symptoms and clinical course of paediatric patients suffering from acute febrile bronchitis. Forty children were recruited for the research: 20 were treated with letosteine in a dose of 25 mg x 3 g/die and 20 with placebo; treatment lasted 10 days. The following parameters were assessed during the trial: body temperature, cough, thoracic objectivity, respiratory function indices. The results of the study show that in the letosteine treated group there is a statistically significant decrease in fever, a favourable evolution of thoracic objectivity and an improvement in certain respiratory function parameters (MEF 75, PEF). It is concluded that treatment with letosteine leads to a significant increase in the rate of regression of thoracic symptomatology and a faster, more substantial reduction in fever in children suffering from acute bronchitis. This is probably the result of drug action on mucus viscosity, restoring optimal mucociliary clearance, and through action fostering the penetration of antibacterial substances into the mucus.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1989

[RAST positivity for food in atopic dermatitis].

In 113 children with atopic dermatitis RAST results for 9 food mixtures were analyzed. Sixty-eight children (60%) were RAST positive (greater than or equal to ++) for one or more mixture and 87% of those RAST positive had specific IgE for egg and/or cereals and/or legumes. Sensitization to egg, cow milk and meat was more frequent in the first years of life. RAST for the mixture of cereals and each single cereal, performed in 37 children, gave concordant results in 76%; agreement for the positive results was 88%, but only 54% for the negative ones. Breast versus cow milk feeding in the first months of life was not found to affect intensity of the skin manifestations or frequency of RAST positivity for the food mixtures or the respiratory symptoms.

Child↗
PubMed1988

Anti-streptolysin O titer, fifty-five years after Todd: a reappraisal of its clinical significance.

Anti-streptolysin O (ASO) antibodies are an expression of the frequent encounters even during the first years of life with beta hemolytic Streptococci, they are easily measured by quantitative laboratory tests and so possess the characteristics of a screening test for impaired antibody production. We have assessed ASO titers in 1955 healthy subjects of different ages (range: 1 month to 97 years). The behaviour of ASO titer is extensively described in the text. The percentage of people with less than 10 TU titers is under 5% after the age of 5 years up to 15 years; from 15 to 60 years there are no subjects with undetectable ASO titer and after this age the percentage is still under 5%. It seems therefore advisable not to define a "normal" treshold when titrating these antibodies to avoid the risk of missing low antibody producers.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Comparison of the frequency of atopic diseases in children with severe and partial IgA deficiency.

Similar frequencies of atopic diseases and of elevated total serum IgE levels were observed in 40 children with serum IgA levels below 5 mg/dl and absence of salivary IgA (severe selective IgA deficiency, SIgAD) and in 40 children with serum IgA levels above 5 mg/dl but below -2 SD of age-normal mean values and presence of salivary IgA (partial SIgAD). These findings suggest that the absence of secretory IgA, which has been postulated to play a protective role by excluding allergens at the mucosal level, does not appear to play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of atopic diseases.

Agammaglobulinemia↗
PubMed1986

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for cow's milk protein-specific IgE using biotinylated antigen. Avoidance of interference by specific IgG.

Detection of specific IgE by the radioallergosorbent test (RAST) which uses labelled antibody can be hampered by the presence of antibodies other than IgE but with the same specificity and may limit usefulness of the RAST for diagnosis of IgE-mediated milk allergy in infancy when high titres of cow's milk protein-specific IgG antibodies are known to be present. This can be avoided by using a system employing labelled antigen, such as the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) described here, where IgE in the test serum is immunoadsorbed to anti-human IgE coated to microtitre plates. Biotinylated antigen, in this case cow's milk proteins, binds to specific IgE and the reaction is revealed colorimetrically by adding horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-avidin conjugate.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Clinical heterogeneity and reversibility of selective immunoglobulin A deficiency in 80 children.

80 children with selective immunoglobulin A (IgA) deficiency--40 with severe deficiency (serum IgA less than 5 mg/dl) and 40 with partial deficiency (serum IgA greater than 5 mg/dl but less than minus 2 SD of the age-normal mean)--were followed up for 1.5 to 9 years; during which their serum and salivary IgA levels were measured periodically and the number and type of infections they had were recorded. In the partial deficiency group serum IgA rose to normal levels in half the group at a median age of 14 years and at a median time of 4 years after diagnosis, but they did not reach the normal range in the severe deficiency group. Pneumonia occurred more frequently in the severe than in the partial deficiency group. In addition, 11 of the 12 severely IgA deficient patients who had pneumonia had levels of both serum and salivary IgA of less than 0.5 mg/dl, and only 1 had detectable serum IgA levels. These data indicate that in childhood severe IgA deficiency is persistent and predisposed to pneumonia, whereas partial IgA deficiency is often transient and only occasionally associated with pneumonia.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1986

Role of IgE in the pathogenesis of milk allergy in infancy: reassessment by a new ELISA technique.

An ELISA technique using labelled antigen for the determination of cow's milk specific IgE in serum is described. The use of labelled antigen, rather than labelled antibody as in the RAST, permits avoidance of interference by antibodies other than IgE, such as IgG, at times responsible for a negative RAST. The results obtained with the 2 techniques in 43 infants with a positive cow's milk challenge showed a positive RAST in 28%, a positive ELISA in 35% and a positive RAST or ELISA in 42%. These findings suggest that the use of both ELISA and RAST permits in vitro diagnosis of cow's milk allergy in more patients than either test alone.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

IgG2 deficiency and intractable epilepsy of childhood.

Twelve children with intractable childhood epilepsy (ICE) were treated with high-dose intravenous immunoglobulins every 21 days for 6 months after immunologic and neurologic evaluations had been carried out. 50% (6/12) were found to have a deficiency of serum IgG2 and all but 1 of these responded to treatment with marked reduction in the daily number of seizures assessed both clinically and electroencephalographically. The response to treatment was, in fact, significantly higher in the children with IgG2 deficiency than in the others. IgG4 deficiency, observed in 5 children, did not affect treatment response. It is suggested that IgG2 deficiency may predispose to some form of viral encephalitis which may trigger an immune mechanism leading to the ICE.

Child↗
PubMed1985

Recurrent infections with IgG2 deficiency.

An 11 year old girl with retarded growth, recurrent infections, bronchiectasis, and normal serum immunoglobulin concentrations had a combined deficit of the IgG2 subclass and IgG and IgM specific antibodies. Immunoglobulin replacement was followed by clinical improvement. The importance of determining both IgG subclasses and antibody activity in patients with recurrent infections and normal serum immunoglobulin values is emphasised.

Child↗
PubMed1984

A new immunoperoxidase assay for Lolium perenne-specific IgE in serum based on the biotin/avidin system (BAS).

A new solid-phase immunoassay based on the biotin/avidin system (BAS) for measuring serum Lolium perenne (LP)-specific IgE antibody is described. LP-specific IgE was assayed by the BAS assay and RAST for comparison in the sera of thirty-two normal asymptomatic subjects RAST-negative for LP and of twenty-six subjects with hay fever and RAST-positive for LP. The specificity of the BAS assay for LP-specific IgE was demonstrated by absorption experiments. An overall agreement of 91% (53/58) was observed between the BAS and RAST and a high correlation (r = 0.87, P less than 0.001) was found between the LP-specific IgE determined by the two methods. The advantages of the BAS assay as compared to both the RAST and classical ELISA are discussed.

Avidin↗
PubMed1983

IgM and IgD concentrations in the serum and secretions of children with selective IgA deficiency.

Serum IgG and serum and secretory IgM, IgA and IgD levels were determined in 14 children with selective IgA deficiency and in 12 age and sex matched healthy controls. IgD was determined using a highly sensitive ELISA technique. In the healthy controls serum IgG, IgA and IgM were all in the age normal range, and serum IgA was significantly higher than secretory IgA with IgA in nasal secretions being significantly higher than in saliva. In the IgA deficient children serum IgG and IgM and secretory IgM were present in higher concentrations than in the controls but the difference was statistically significant only for serum IgG and salivary IgM. IgD was detectable in the serum and secretions of all patients and all but one control subject. Like IgM, serum IgD levels were significantly higher than secretory IgD levels and IgD was present in greater concentrations in nasal secretions than in saliva both in the patients and the controls, with no difference between the two groups. Thus, the data of this study show that while serum and secretory IgM levels are elevated in children with selective IgA deficiency, serum and secretory IgD are present in normal concentrations, supporting the hypothesis of a compensatory increase in IgM but not in IgD in such patients.

Adolescent↗