[Strawberry and raspberry anaphylaxis]. / Allergie immédiate à la fraise et à la framboise.

Strawberry IgE-mediated hypersensitivity is often reported rarely confirmed. Only a few cases are described in medical literature, unlike other fruits of the rosacea family. Strawberry is rich in histamine. It can cause histamine release syndrome, especially when eaten in large quantities. However IgE-mediated hypersensitivity exists. We reported the case of a 9-year-old boy with a history of strawberry and raspberry anaphylaxis.

L'allergie à la fraise est souvent rapportée, rarement confirmée. Il existe peu de cas décrits dans la littérature, contrairement aux autres fruits de la famille des rosacées. La fraise est un fruit riche en histamine et peut donc être responsable de fausses allergies, surtout en cas d'ingestion en grandes quantités. Cependant, de réelles allergies, médiées par les IgE, existent. Nous rapportons le cas d'un garçon, âgé de 9 ans, qui a présenté, à deux reprises, une anaphylaxie à la fraise et à la framboise.

[How to improve therapeutic compliance in the asthmatic pediatric patient]. / Comment pouvons-nous pratiquement améliorer l'observance thérapeutique dans l'asthme de l'enfant et de l'adolescent?

Asthma is a chronic disease the control of which often requires a day-to-day treatment. The compliance in childhood asthma is estimated at 50%. It is therefore mandatory to resort to strategies for good compliance. Starting from a literature review and the concept of Guided Self-Management defined in the GINA 2009 report, our pneumo-paediatric unit offers a local, useful and efficient strategy based on close collaboration with the family doctor, an Internet asthma school or DVD and the edition of a clear asthma treatment plan, which can easily be filled in by the physicians.

[Practical pediatric aspects of palivizumab]. / Anticorps monoclonaux en pédiatrie. Palivizumab (Synagis): indications et aspects pratiques.

Palivizumab (Synagis) is a monoclonal antibody directed against the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), for reducing mortality and morbidity in infants at risk of cardio-respiratory impairement due to bronchiolitis: 1. prematurity less than 28 weeks and less than 1 year of age; 2. between 28 and 32 weeks plus mechanical ventilation and less than 6 months of age; 3. chronic lung deficiency and less than 2 years of age; 4. congenital cardiopathy with either desaturation, pulmonary hypertension or cardiac failure. Another group of infants is those having a severe imnnunodeficiency. These infants are listed in a hospital recognized to have a competence in neonatal intensive care or a cardio-thoracic care program. The specialist in those disciplines prescribe the palivizumab which is delivered by the pharmacy of the competent hospital. The infant receives it by IM route at a dose of 15 mg/kg, monthly between October or November and February or March. Reduction of mortality and morbidity have been observed in the infants at risk. However, this costly pharmacological preventive approach needs to come after other simple preventive measures such as avoiding contact with potential carriers of nasal viruses and passive smoking, for bronchiolitis is not solely due to RSV.

[Management of acute bronchiolitis in newborns]. / Prise en charge de la bronchiolite aiguë du nourrisson.

Acute bronchiolitis is a common condition of viral origin with attention of treating hypoxia and maintaining hydration. Medications are often ineffective, although widely used in our countries. If the spontaneous cure is the rule, the persistence of a respiratory symptomatology (cough or wheezing) during several weeks is not exceptional.

Apomorphine stimulation of vasopressin- and oxytocin-neurophysins. Evidence for increased oxytocinergic and decreased vasopressinergic function in schizophrenics.

Apomorphine challenge tests (0.5 mg SC) were performed in 14 normal male volunteers and in 9 male schizophrenic inpatients, drug-free for at least 2 wk. In the normal volunteers, apomorphine induced an increase of serum growth hormone (GH) (maximum at 40 min), of vasopressin-neurophysin (hNpI) (maximum at 20 min), and oxytocin-neurophysin (hNpII) (maximum at 20 min). The release of neurophysins was independent of digestive side effects. In the schizophrenics, the GH level and release pattern were similar to those in the controls. The basal level of hNpI was reduced (t0: 0.42 +/- 0.1 ng/ml in the schizophrenics and 0.66 +/- 0.05 ng/ml in the controls, p < 0.02). In contrast, the basal level of hNpII was increased (3.34 +/- 0.04 ng/ml in the schizophrenics to 0.92 +/- 0.21 ng/ml in the controls, p = 0.001). The response to apomorphine was blunted, with no significant release of hNpI or of hNpII. Although the hNpII data are consistent with an increased dopaminergic tone, the psychopathological meaning of the increased basal oxytocinergic and decreased vasopressinergic functions remains to be defined.

Neurophysins as markers of vasopressin and oxytocin release. A study in carcinoma of the lung.

Vasopressin-neurophysin (hNpI), oxytocin-neurophysin (hNpII) and blood osmolality were assayed before any treatment in basal conditions in 35 patients suffering from lung carcinoma (20 oat cell, 6 undifferentiated and 9 well-differentiated epidermoid cell carcinomas). Plasma vasopressin (antidiuretic hormone, ADH) was also assayed in 7 of the 20 patients suffering from oat cell carcinoma. We found a close correlation (r = 0.98) between plasma ADH and hNpI levels in the 7 patients. Further, hNpI was elevated in 13 out of the 20 oat cell carcinoma patients and in none of the epidermoid-cell carcinoma group; however, searching for an abnormality of ADH secretion as reflected by a detectable plasma hNpI level together with subnormal plasma osmolality revealed 2 additional positive results in the oat cell carcinoma group, and 2 out of the 6 in the undifferentiated-cell carcinoma group. hNpII was increased together with an increase in hNpI in 6 oat cell carcinoma patients; it was specifically increased without hNpI increment in 2 additional oat cell carcinoma patients and in 2 patients of the undifferentiated-cell carcinoma group (different from the 2 positive for the hNpI-osmolality ratio). hNpI and hNpII were normal in the majority of undifferentiated and all of the differentiated epidermoid-cell carcinoma group. Hence, our results show that simultaneous measurements of hNpI, hNpII, and blood osmolality could detect abnormalities in 17 out of 20 oat cell carcinoma patients, in 4 of the 9 undifferentiated-cell carcinoma patients, but in none of the differentiated epidermoid-cell carcinoma patients, suggesting that the neurophysin assay can be used for the early detection of oat cell- and possibly other neuroendocrine-derived carcinomas.