Utility of Basophil Activation Test for monitoring the acquisition of clinical tolerance after oral desensitization to cow's milk: Pilot study

Objective: The quantification of basophil activation by flow cytometry is a useful tool for the assessment of immediate-type responses to food allergens and the prediction of clinical tolerance in food allergy patients. The aim of this study is to investigate how the analysis of allergen-induced CD63 up-regulation by flow cytometry can be effective in monitoring the acquisition of clinical tolerance by specific oral desensitization in food allergy. To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine this topic. Materials and methods: Three male patients affected by cow’s milk allergy underwent successful oral desensitization to cow’s milk. In order to monitor the acquired clinical tolerance that occurred after treatment, we performed laboratory tests for total and specific IgE, specific IgG4 and the Basophil Activation Test (BAT) both at baseline and at the end of the desensitization protocol. Results: Using a fluorescent enzyme immunoassay, the comparison of specific cow’s milk antibodies before and after treatment showed a decrease of specific IgE levels, without reaching normal values, and an increase of specific IgG4 levels. A complete suppression of cow’s milk proteins (a-lactoalbumin, b-lactoglobulin and casein) induced CD63 regulation was observed in all three reported cases. Conclusions: Using flow cytometry, food allergen-specific basophil responses could be monitored in order to identify an acquired tolerance induced by desensitization treatment. Although further studies are needed to develop this important new topic, it was interesting to note that the BAT seemed to be more sensitive and characterized by a close correlation with clinical tolerance

Specific oral immunotherapy in food allergic patients: transient or persistent tolerance?

Introduction: The first therapeutic choice for food allergy is avoidance of the responsible food, but when this approach is not possible, specific oral desensitization could be considered as a good alternative. It is not clear yet whether the acquired tolerance is transient or persistent. Aim: We report on a subset of 13 patients of a larger study, treated successfully with specific oral tolerance induction who experienced secondary loss of tolerance after a period of allergen avoidance. Material and methods: Thirteen patients affected by IgE-mediated food allergy: to cow milk (3 patients), to hen egg (3 patients), to cod fish (2 patients), to peanuts (1 patient) and to corn (1 patient) confirmed by a complete allergological workup and a double-blind placebo-controlled food challenge (DBPCFC), were treated with sublingual-oral desensitization. After the interruption of the maintenance phase, the laboratory tests were performed and 12 of 13 patients underwent DBPCFC. Results: Oral specific desensitization was completed successfully in all the 13 reported patients. At different times after the end of treatment, they decided, on their own initiative, to stop the ingestion of incriminated food. A new food allergen re-exposure caused adverse reactions in 12 of 13 patients. The detection of specific IgE and IgG4 during the period of allergen avoidance showed an increase in or a stable level of specific IgE and a decrease in specific IgG4 in 8 patients. Conclusions: According to our experience, the tolerance obtained through the desensitizing treatment is transient and so the regular allergen intake is necessary for its maintenance

Aging: aspetti citologici e molecolari del gamete maschile

La crioconservazione del seme in giovane età può essere una soluzione per evitare l'impatto negativo dell'invecchiamento sugli spermatozoi? La maggior parte degli studi considera l'età materna come un fattore di rischio per l'aborto spontaneo, infertilità e defetti genetici nella prole. Solo in questi ultimi anni si è focalizzata l’attenzione anche sull’uomo, valutando gli effetti sulla progenie concepita in età avanzata. Parecchi studi suggeriscono l’associazione tra età maschile e declino dei parametri seminali. Alcune evidenze mostrano anche una compromissione dell’aspetto cromatinico, con un aumento della frammentazione del DNA nemaspermico, alterata compattazione cromatinica e deficit protaminico. Inoltre alcuni lavori si sono concentrati sullo studio del profilo di espressione di alcuni miRNAs coinvolti nel processo di aging che mostrano delle caratteristiche tessuto-specifiche. Per capire meglio l’effetto dell’aging sulla fertilità maschile ho condotto uno studio citologico e molecolare del gamete maschile in età avanzata. Lo studio citologico consiste nell’analisi dei parametri seminali secondo gli standard WHO (2010) di 1416 soggetti anziani (40-80 anni) e di 1597 controlli giovani (20-30 anni) ed ha mostrato un declino significativo correlato all’età di alcuni parametri seminali come: il volume seminale, il numero totale di spermatozoi per eiaculato, la motilità progressiva e la morfologia. Lo studio molecolare invece ha evidenziato diversi difetti nel gamete maschile di 40 uomini anziani (50-80 anni) rispetto a 40 uomini giovani (20-40 anni): 1) Aumento del danno al DNA nemaspermico (TUNEL assay), 2) diminuzione dei livelli di espressione genica della PRM1 e PRM2 (qRT-PCR), 3) Alterazione del profilo di espressione di microRNAs nel plasma seminale (qRT-PCR). In conclusione, seppur gli individui anziani non mostrino una spermatogenesi fortemente alterata, l’analisi molecolare rivela difetti a vari livelli che possono inficiare sull’outcome riproduttivo

Attività di spostamento e interiorizzazione di un divieto in bambini in età prescolare durante un compito di ritardo della gratificazione

Aim of the study: This study was aimed at investigating whether displacement activities had an effect on preschool children’s internalization of a rule, that is, on the ability to comply with an adult’s demands even without surveillance. Displacement activities are commonly recognized as behavioral patterns, mostly including self-directed actions (e.g. scratching, self-touching), which often occur in situations involving conflicting motivational tendencies. In ethology, several researchers have suggested that displacement activities could facilitate individuals in dealing with the stress experienced in a frustrating context. In child developmental research, some authors have assessed whether distraction strategies could help children to inhibit a dominant response during delay of gratification tasks (i.e., tasks in which they need to postpone a pleasant activity). However, little is known about the role played by the displacement activities displayed by young children in such situations, especially when children are required to comply with an adult’s request without surveillance. In this study, we hypothesized that displacement activities would have helped children to cope with the stress experienced during the delay to play with an attractive stimulus, thus functioning as regulators of their emotional state and facilitating children to wait longer in the task. We also hypothesized that playing with an alternative toy would have functioned as distractor and led children to be better able to tolerate the delay. Method: To this end, we administered 143 2-to- 4-year-olds with a delay maintenance task and related their performance with the displacement activities they showed during the delay and with different types of actions (i.e., literal, conventional, and symbolic actions) produced with an alternative object (i.e., four rubber ducks). Results: Children’s latency to touch the musical box (i.e., indicator of internalization) was positively related with the rate of displacement activities. However, the rate of displacement activities increased progressively as long as children were able to inhibit the interaction with the musical box. In addition, the rate of displacement activities during the first minute of test did not predict the ability of children to inhibit the interaction with the box. Furthermore, none of the different types of action with the rubber ducks had an effect on children’s delay tolerance. Conclusion: These results suggest that displacement activities represented a functionless by-product of motivational conflict rather than a strategy that children used to inhibit a response toward an attractive stimulus in a delay maintenance task without adult’s surveillance. Moreover, distraction with an alternative object did not help children to perform better in the task

Le Microaree di Trieste

Abstract non disponibil

Indices of social knowledge in Italian-speaking children. Relations between personal pronouns, verb conjugations and mental state language

This cross-sectional study investigated the use of four verbal indices of social knowledge (personal pronouns, verb conjugations, people words and mental state language) and their concurrent relations in a sample of 287 Italian-speaking children between 18 and 36 months. Results showed that the production of all indices increased with age. Mental state language (MSL) was positively associated to the use of personal pronouns and verb conjugations, suggesting that the difficulty in the acquisition of person-marking devices is partly due to social constraints. Moreover, both second- and third-person pronouns and verb conjugations were related to the acquisition of MSL, above and beyond the effects due to age and vocabulary. First-person references had no unique relation to MSL, after considering second- and third-person references. Lastly, the use of people words showed bidirectional associations with MSL, suggesting that the frequency of this category might be considered as an early verbal indicator of children’s social knowledg

Do displacement activities help preschool children to wait more in a delay of maintenance task?

Emotions play a critical role in decision-making. Displacement activities are behavioral patterns that occur in frustrating situations, but it is unclear whether they are a functionless byproduct of motivational conflict or whether they function to limit the costs associated to the internal conflict. We tested 151 preschool children in a delay maintenance task. They were individually presented with an attractive musical box and instructed not to touch it for three minutes, during which they were left alone. We aimed to assess (i) if children performed displacement activities when they were required not to interact with the box, and (ii) whether these behaviors helped children to inhibit their response to the box, or whether they were just a byproduct of the distress experienced. We identified 13 displacement activities and scored from video clips (i) the latency to interact with the box, and (ii) the displacement activities that occurred before and after having interacted with the box. Children’s latency to interact with the box was positively related with the frequency of displacement activities before the interaction. However, the frequency of displacement activities increased progressively as long as the children were able to inhibit the interaction with the musical box. Furthermore, frequency of displacement activities during the first minute of test did not predict the ability of children to inhibit the interaction with the box. These results suggest displacement activities represent a functionless byproduct of motivational conflict rather than a strategy children use to inhibit a response to an attractive stimulus

TEORIA DELLA MENTE E TEMPERAMENTO: UNO STUDIO ESPLORATIVO IN BAMBINI DI ETÀ PRESCOLARE

Introduzione Sebbene la Teoria della Mente (ToM) sia stata oggetto di numerose indagini in ambito evolutivo, pochi studi hanno indagato la relazione tra ToM e temperamento. Da queste ricerche emergono interessanti relazioni tra ToM e alcune dimensioni temperamentali, come aggressività e timidezza, per cui bambini descritti come meno aggressivi e più timidi sono maggiormente capaci di comprendere gli stati emotivi propri e altrui. Inoltre, bambini con più alti livelli di ToM mostrano anche maggiore empatia e autocontrollo. Obiettivo del presente studio è indagare la relazione tra ToM e temperamento ipotizzando relazioni positive tra ToM e aspetti internalizzanti del temperamento, come la timidezza, e relazioni negative con aspetti esternalizzanti, come aggressività e rabbia. Ci aspettiamo relazioni positive anche con le dimensioni dell’empatia e dell’autocontrollo. Nonostante il temperamento abbia basi biologiche e rimanga relativamente stabile nel tempo, alcuni studi rilevano che solo il temperamento predice la ToM e non viceversa. Ulteriore obiettivo di questo studio è quindi testare l’ipotesi inversa. Metodo Sono state condotte due fasi di raccolta dati. Nella prima fase, una prova di falsa credenza (“Smarties task”) è stata somministrata a 101 bambini di 3 e 4 anni di età (M = 41.12, DS = 5.94). Alla seconda fase hanno partecipato 69 bambini del campione iniziale, all’età di 5 e 6 anni (M = 65.14, DS = 5.88). In questa fase, è stato chiesto ai genitori di compilare un questionario sul temperamento del bambino (Children’s Behaviour Questionnaire) ed un questionario su aspetti dell’iperattività/impulsività (SDAG). Sono state condotte analisi della varianza, correlazioni e regressioni gerarchiche. Risultati I risultati mostrano relazioni negative tra ToM e Rabbia/Frustrazione (p<.05) e le dimensioni che implicano una minore regolazione comportamentale, quali Attivazione Motoria (p<.01) e Piacere ad Alta Intensità (p<.05). Al contrario, relazioni positive emergono con le dimensioni legate all’autocontrollo, ovvero Attenzione Focalizzata (p=.053) e Sensibilità Percettiva (p<.05) e con l’Empatia (p<.05). Nessuna relazione significativa emerge con la timidezza e l’aggressività. Infine, una relazione negativa emerge tra la ToM e la scala dell’Iperattività dello SDAG (p<.05), mentre non vi è relazione significativa con la scala dell’attenzione. Conclusioni Questi risultati mostrano che la ToM si associa in modi differenti con le varie dimensioni del temperamento e indicano che bambini maggiormente capaci di comprendere credenze proprie e altrui presentano una minore attivazione motoria e più alti livelli di empatia nella vita quotidiana. Riteniamo che ulteriori indagini siano particolarmente utili per la relazione con il controllo attentivo, per cui è stata trovata una relazione solo marginale o non significativa, e per le relazioni con timidezza e aggressività, non significative nel nostro studio, al contrario di quanto rilevato da precedenti ricerche