[ Pollen-food olive-olive syndrome]

Background: The pollen-foods syndrome is rare and of difficult diagnosis. The aim is to report a rare case, it's the four case reported in the literature

Case report: A 48-year-old woman presenting with palatal itching and generalized urticaria following ingestion of olive fruit, 5 years after being diagnosed with olive pollinosis. She did not have a history of other food allergy or urticaria. The prick-test was positive in olive pollen.The olive pollen specific IgE was positive. The oral provocation test was positive for olives and negative for olive oil. The diagnosis of "pollen-food olive-olive syndrome" was accepted. Interestingly, in this rare case the patient developed olive fruit allergy in the presence of olive pollinosis, but did not experience allergic symptoms to fruits other than olive

Conclusion: In spite its rarity this syndrome should be evoke particularly in our country

Association of obesity with asthma severity, control and quality of life

The association between asthma and obesity is becoming increasingly established but the mechanism that might explain the observed differences in asthma severity, control and quality of life between obese and non-obese adult asthmatics is not clear. The purpose of this study was: 1] to determine asthma severity, control and quality of life in obese asthmatics and 2] to explore, according to the body mass index [BMI], the systemic inflammatory state of asthmatic people. A cross-sectional study was conducted between 2009 and 2010. Two hundred adult asthmatic patients were included. Data analysis consisted of univariate analysis with chi-square comparison test followed by a multivariate logistic regression. Obesity worsens the severity of asthma. This finding was more strongly observed among women than men. Obesity and overweight are associated with a poorer control of asthma. According to BMI, obese asthmatics had 6 times more frequent emergency visits, 5 times more frequent hospitalizations for asthma related complaints, increased missed work days and greater dose of inhaled corticosteroids [1025 micro g/day vs. 759 micro g/day of beclometasone equivalent]. Mean serum level of C-reactive protein [CRP] and leptin was significantly correlated with asthma severity based on GINA classification [5.75 vs. 2.81 mg/l; 20.5 vs. 5.38 ng/ml; respectively]. In summary, it appears that obesity is significantly associated with a greater asthma severity and a poorer asthma control and quality of life. Chronic systemic inflammation state may explain the relationship between obesity and asthma

[Acquired isolated factor VII deficiency and bronchogenic carcinoma. a case report]

An acquired factor VII deficiency was identified in a 63-year-old man with bronchogenic carcinoma. Initial studies indicated a normal activated partial thromboplastin time and a prolonged prothrombin time. The factor VII level was 6%. No evidence of a factor VII inhibitor or inactivator was demonstrable. However, on account of the initial normal laboratory test of emostases, the partial correction of the prothrombin time with 50% normal plasma in vitro and the family history, the congenital deficiency in factor VII was ruled out. Whatever the mechanism involved, this factor VII deficiency was related to malignancy