Effects of Different Up-Dosing Regimens for Hymenoptera Venom Immunotherapy on Serum CTLA-4 and IL-10

BACKGROUND: Cytotoxic T lymphocyte associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4) is involved in the activation pathways of T lymphocytes. It has been shown that the circulating form of CTLA-4 is elevated in patients with hymenoptera allergy and can be down regulated by immunotherapy. OBJECTIVE: to assess the effects on CTLA-4 of venom immunotherapy, given with different induction protocols: conventional (6 weeks), rush (3 days) or ultra rush (1 day). METHODS: Sera from patients with hymenoptera allergy were collected at baseline and at the end of the induction phase. CTLA-4 and IL-10 were assayed in the same samples. A subset of patients were assayed also after 12 months of VIT maintenance. RESULTS: Ninety-four patients were studied. Of them, 50 underwent the conventional induction, 20 the rush and 24 the ultra-rush. Soluble CTLA-4 was detectable in all patients at baseline, and significantly decreased at the end of the induction, irrespective of its duration. Of note, a significant decrease of sCTLA-4 could be seen already at 24 hours. In parallel, IL-10 significantly increased at the end of the induction. At 12 months, sCTLA-4 remained low, whereas IL-10 returned to the baseline values. CONCLUSIONS: Serum CTLA4 is an early marker of the immunological effects of venom immunotherapy, and its changes persist after one year of maintenance treatment

Ricerca di salmonelle in alimenti di origine animale

Sono stati ricercati batteri appartenenti al genere Salmonella in diversi alimenti di origine animal

3D survey technologies applied to the archaeology for the new "Municipio" underground station in Naples. Proceeding of 1st International Conference on Metrology for Archaeology

Advanced 3D survey technologies, such as Digital Photogrammetry and Laser Scanner, are nowadays widely used in several fields such as Cultural Heritage and Archaeology, allowing to obtain detailed 3D textured models in a fast way for different purposes. These technologies are usually employed to perform single individual surveys but they have rarely been considered for continuous surveys like being part of a “production line”. The construction of the new “Municipio” underground station in Naples, due to its position in one of the historical area of the city, coexists with the archaeological excavations and is strictly tied to their evolution. With such surveys, the need to reduce as much as possible time to build a public infrastructure, with the one to produce accurate documentation of what is considered archaeologically important are combined

Presenza di Listeria in matrici alimentari

Gli A.A. riportano i risultati di una ricerca svolta nell’arco di un decennio (1989-1999) per valutare la presenza e l’incidenza di microrganismi appartenenti al genere Listeria in diverse matrici alimentari. Sono stati complessivamente esaminati 1366 campioni tra derivati del latte (494), carne e derivati (509), prodotti ittici (183), alimenti vegetali (180). Dai 494 campioni di prodotti caseari sono stati isolati 67 (18%) stipiti appartenenti al genere Listeria di cui 40 (8%) L.monocytogenes. Dai 509 campioni di carne e derivati sono stati isolati 321 (63%) stipiti appartenenti al genere Listeria di cui 77 (15%) L.monocytogenes. Dai 183 campioni di origine marina sono stati isolati 44 (24%) stipiti appartenenti al genere Listeria di cui 14 (7,6%) L.monocytogenes. Nei 180 campioni di alimenti vegetali sono stati rinvenuti complessivamente 6 stipiti (3,3%) appartenenti al genere Listeria, ma non è stato isolato alcun ceppo di L.monocytogenes. La più alta percentuale di isolamento di L.monocytogenes è stata trovata nel salmone affumicato (38%), seguito dalle salsicce (28%) e mozzarelle (16%)

Clinical efficacy of radioiodine therapy in multinodular toxic goiter, applying an implemented dose calculation algorithm.

Radioiodine is a common therapeutic option for Multinodular Toxic Goiter (MTG). We evaluated an algorithm for personalized radioiodine activity calculation. Ninety-three (28 male, 65 female; 43-84 years) patients with MTG eligible for radioiodine treatment (131I-iodide) were studied. The quantity of 131I-iodide to be administered was estimated by Thyroid Volume Reduction (TVR) algorithm, developed for Graves' disease. It takes into account 131I uptake, its effective half-life (T1/2eff), thyroid volume, and its expected reduction during treatment. A comparison with the activity calculated by other dosimetric protocols and the "fixed" activity method was performed. 131I uptake was measured by external counting, thyroid volume by ultrasonography (US), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), and thyroid hormones by standard immunometric methods. In a follow-up of 6-120 months, remission of hyperthyroidism after a single 131I-iodide treatment was observed in 76 patients (64 euthyroid, 12 hypothyroid). The thyroid volume reduction observed by US after the treatment fairly correlated with what predicted by our model; T1/2eff was highly variable and critically affected dose calculation. The administered activities (median 526 MBq, range 156-625 MBq) were slightly lower than the "fixed" activities (600 MBq) and with respect to the other protocols' prescriptions (-15/38%); the median 131I activity administered to relapsed patients (605 MBq) was significantly greater (P=0.01) with respect to the dose administered to cured patients (471 MBq). Our study shows that an effective cure of MTG can be obtained with relatively low 131I activities and probably with a relatively low incidence of hypothyroidism, using TVR method