[Primary response to tetanus toxoid stimulation in early infancy]. / Studio della risposta primaria dopo stimolazione con tossoide tetanico nel giovane lattante.

The authors attempt to evaluate the degree of immune response to the first dose of anti-tetanus vaccination in young infants and to study the correlation between maternal and infantile antitetanus antibody titers. The sample studied comprised 5 males and 5 females aged between 61 and 75 days old, without acute and/or chronic pathologies and uncircumsized. Three samples of peripheral venous blood were collected for each infant: 1 at time 0, and the other two during the 15 days after the administration of the first dose of tetanus toxoid. The results support the hypothesis that vaccinal stimulation has a greater effect on cellular rather than humoral immunity, causing an increase in the CD4/CD8 ratio and a decrease in CD16. The study confirms that women with high antitetanus antibody titers during pregnancy have children with protective antibody titers. This underlines the importance of vaccinating pregnant women who, for various reasons, have not been immunised so as to prevent infantile tetanus and to allow the possibility of delaying, if necessary, the administration of the first dose of toxoid in infants without the risk of short-term toxoinfection.

[Evaluation of the immune status of children never treated wtih chemoantibiotics (children 3 to 6 years old)]. / Valutazione dello stato immunitario di bambini mai sottoposti a terapia chemioantibiotica (bambini dai 3 ai 6 anni).

Six children aged between three and six years, born from undamaged families and free from malformative, chronic, degenerative or metabolic diseases, never treated with chemoantibiotics, were checked for their immune status. They were compared with other six children with the same somatic characteristics, the same health status and the same economical-social condition as the first six ones; but frequently treated with chemoantibiotics (not less than three therapy periods during each year of their life). The comparative study was performed by checking various parameters (lymphocyte blastization; rosette "E"; T3, T4, T8 lymphocytes with T4/T8 ratio; B lymphocytes; NK cells, chemotaxis; phagocytosis; killing; serum immunoglobulins A, G, M; C3; C4) index of immune functions, in uniform conditions. Results were statistically elaborated by means of "t-Student between groups test", "on ordinal ranks test", "t-Student for paired data test" and "Pearson's correlation coefficient" calculation. Significative differences by means of "t-Student between groups test" were recorded for what C3 is concerned, higher in never treated children, for PWM stimulation Blastization, lower in never treated children, for unstimulated blastization, chemotaxis and plasma IgM lower in frequently treated children. By means of "t-Student for paired data test" the above mentioned differences were confirmed and significantly higher values of plasma Immunoglobulin G and B lymphocyte in never treated children were pointed out. The differences between the last children and the controls are much higher than those previously recorded between similar groups 6-12 years old.

[Secretory IgA: quality control of the titration method]. / IgA secretorie: controllo di qualità della metodica di titolazione.

In order to verify if the method for the titration of salivary secretory IgA (s-IgA) by the technical of radial immunodiffusion is trustworthy, have been carried out the precision tests in the series and among the series in two saliva samples with very different s-IgA concentrations, and precision and accuracy tests in the series and among the series using a solution with a known titre of IgA. The results of the first battery tests have shown a precision ranging from 93.04 to 95.43%. The results of the tests of the second battery have shown a precision ranging about 96% and an accuracy about 97%. The tested method is, therefore, sufficiently trustworthy.

[Effect of the emotional state on immune functions: study on firstborn children on the occasion of the birth of a sibling]. / Influenza degli stati emotivi su funzioni immunitarie: studio in bambini primogeniti in occasione della nascita di un fratello.

The eventuality that a particular emotional involvement could weigh heavily on a person's psychophysical welfare, assuming a complementary role in the appearance of clinically noticeable pathologies (infections, allergies, neoplasms) has been object of several hypotheses which have been confirmed in researches on animals. Our research, by examining an unavoidable and surely natural situation like that one of the birth of a brother for a first born, a particularly severe for what affectivity is concerned, had the aim to evidence if there were some biological expressions, able to quantitatively settle the eventual immune functions' alterations indicative of a preexistent equilibrium. With this purpose have been examined several biological expressions indicative of immune functions (B lymphocytes, T lymphocytes, NK cells, lymphocyte transformation, chemotaxis, phagocytosis, C3 Complement fraction) in three first-born children with 2 to 3 years of age, whose mothers had in course a second pregnancy, during a period of about 20 months (from III pregnancy month to XIV month of age of the brother). The evolution of these immune functions evidence, during the whole period of observation, a non univocal performance. In the most of the cases was evidenced a variation towards diminution of the biological expression of some functions (lymphocyte transformation, T3 lymphocytes, T4 lymphocytes, T4/T8 rate, "E" Rosettes, chemotaxis and phagocytosis), while in the case of NK cells there were also variations towards augmentation. Particularly important were the variations towards diminution, that biological expressions as lymphocyte transformation and "E" Rosettes undergo. In two children the variations, towards diminution, showed themselves already before the birth of the brother. The variation of the T3 and T4 lymphocytes, of the T4/T8 rate, of chemotaxis and of phagocytosis were more limited. The values of the other examined biological expressions (T8, B7, C3) were in the normal range during the whole period of observation. Our results let us to attribute to emotional events, as in experimented model, the capacity to affect the biological expression that measures some immune functions, by depressing them in most of the cases, so in way to adulterate the immune equilibrium, and by setting the premises to upset the capability of immune defense in the examined persons. Our observations lead us to think that effectively, an event during which an important emotional state is induced, by upsetting the immune equilibrium, could more predispose a child (in this case the first born) to the action of pathogens.

[Validity limits of data on secretory IgA]. / Limiti della validità dei dati relativi alle IgA secretorie.

Secretory IgA (sIgA) in saliva, and sometimes in expectoration, have been titrated in various groups of persons, both in pediatric age and in adults, by means of radial immunodiffusion technic. The aim was to find differences among sIgA levels in the course of respiratory tract infections, both acute and chronic, in consequence of treatment with Erythromycin (in children and in adults) in consequence of surgical intervention (in adults). Adjunctive aim was to establish if it was possible to recognize hereditary of the character that remark the predisposition to produce high sIgA quantities. The very high variability of the data collected in the various occasions and situations allowed serious doubts about the possibility of use of the parameter sIgA in saliva for the evaluations that were assumed as aim of the research. The said high variability was confirmed in a single surely healthy boy, in which sIgA were performed on saliva specimens collected for ten consecutive days, morning and evening, always at the same time (8 a.m. and p.m.). In the attempt to clarify the reason of such a variability, the intervention of psychical solicitation and emotional conditions were ipotized to modify production, mobilization and secretion of IgA generally considered and sIgA particularly.

[Various immune functions (with particular attention to NK cells) in young people with frequent episodes of pharyngitis]. / Studio di alcune funzioni immunitarie (con particolare attenzione alle cellule "NK") in giovani con frequenti episodi faringitici.

In four girls, selected during three years of ambulatory observations, the evolution of repeated upper respiratory tract infection events, under the immunologic aspect, has been studied. The group of girls, with age between 13 and 16 years, practically formed a small casuistry, as an experimental recruitment. With the aim to find the causes of the told infectious events, firstly were checked numerous immune functions, successively were evaluated only the ones that had resulted altered (percentage number of "NK" cells, complement "C3" fraction and "T4" lymphocytes). Particularly significative variations, toward diminution, of the "NK" cells number related to the most compelling school attendance periods were recognized. What observed could let hypothesize that stress and emotions , correlated to scholastic events negatively influence some immune functions, peculiarly the number of "NK" cells. To the lowering of these cells could correspond a facilitation and higher frequency of upper respiratory tract infections (with pharynx as an epicenter), likely by viral aetiology. The subsequent vicarious and/or compensatory intervention by other immune functions could allow, however, the spontaneous recovery, without chemotherapeutic recourse, of the infectious events, that could arise with higher frequency but, most likely, with lower seriousness than could happen when "NK" cells normally act.

Aminophylline blood levels with concomitant erythromycin therapy in relapsed chronic obstructive lung disease.

Sixty patients affected by chronic obstructive lung disease (COLD) in relapse were treated with erythromycin and aminophylline. The patients were divided into three groups: Group A received 2 g erythromycin and 1200 mg aminophylline daily, and Group B and C received 2 g erythromycin with respectively 800 mg and 600 mg of aminophylline daily, administered as two oral doses in each case. On day 5 of therapy, we chromatographically evaluated aminophylline in a serum sample taken two hours after morning drug administration which corresponds to the peak plasma level. We also evaluated certain biohumoral, microbiological, radiological and electrocardiographic parameters both before and after therapy. Statistical analysis of the data was performed by the Student's t test. Our data confirm that 600-800 mg oral aminophylline administered simultaneously with erythromycin induce an improvement in the respiratory function of patients with relapsed COLD without elevating blood aminophylline levels and without side-effects.

Clinical study with cefoxitin in paediatrics.

A trial of cefoxitin was performed on 25 children needing urgent and accurate antibiotic therapy before laboratory test results could be made available. Cefoxitin proved to be highly active in the treatment of infections of bacterial origin. It was therefore found suitable for use in the clinical situation where the urgency of the need for treatment differs from theoretical practice.

[Recent trends in the serologic diagnosis of pertussis]. / Recenti indirizzi nella diagnostica sierologica della pertosse.

Anti-whooping cough agglutinin titrations were performed in various groups of children by employing a special antigen and a microtechnique. Moderate agglutinating titers were detected in the first trimester of life and were interpreted as transmitted from the mother. Rare and moderate titers were observed in a group of children of school age, randomly selected and non institutionalized, while, on the contrary, an analogous institutionalized group showed more frequent and higher rate of antibodies. In clinically diagnosed whooping cough titers resulted high when the disease turned out to have set in more than three week earlier. Anti-whooping cough vaccination determined agglutinating titers mainly moderate and not long-lasting.

[Antistaphylococcal activity of gentamicin]. / Attività antistafilococcica della gentamicina

A review of the literature suggests the following conclusions: 1) since its first practical use in 1965, namely over the past 10 years, there has been no drop in activity of Gentamicin on Staphylococcus aureus and on numerous other Staphylococcus and/or Micrococcus species. 2) In comparison with the other aminoglycosidic antibiotics employed up to the present, i.e. Streptomycin, Neomycin, Kanamycin, Amminosidine, and Framycetin, Gentamicin has demonstrated a much superior antistaphylococcic activity, and this has also been documented on numerous strains of staphylococci recalcitrant to Kanamycin, Streptomycin, Framycetin and Neomycin. This goes to prove the absence of any cross resistance between Kanamycin, Streptomycin, Framycetin and Neomycin on the one hand and Gentamycin on the other. 3) Along with Rifampicin, certain Cephalosporins (Cephalotine, Cephaloridine) and Pristinamycin-Virgimycin, Gentamicin must undoubtedly be considered a "greater" antibiotic as far as antistaphylococcic activity is concerned. It also has the advantage over other antistaphylococcic-acting antibiotics that only in exceptional cases does it give rise to resistant strains.