Exposure to paraphenylendiamine in hairdressing parlours.

Synopsis A certain number of hairdressing parlour employers have been taken to court because their employees allegedly suffered from lung allergies caused by the vapours from PPD (paraphenylendiamine) which allegedly developed when applying hair dyes. These conclusions may be reached if the specific hazards of the rubber and particularly leather and fur dyeing industry are extrapolated as is widely reported in literature, to hairdressing employees. The purpose of this study is to assess the actual exposure rate to PPD vapours of hairdressing employees during a working day, on the basis of the type and characteristics of the salon (small, medium and large), the number of dye applications per day and the chemical-physical characteristics of the oxidation dyes. The results prove that, even under the hypothesis of experimental conditions pushed to the extreme, it is not reasonable to speak of exposure to PPD through the lungs of hairdressing employees.

[Specific hyposensitizing therapy. Considerations on its effectiveness and validity]. / Terapia iposensibilizzante specifica. Considerazioni sull'efficacia e sulla validità.

The Authors reported on the effects of the specific desensitizing therapy performed by them on 684 patients suffering from different allergies (rhinitis, asthma from pollens and other inaled agents) who were put under observation from 1-1-1970 to 13-12-1972 and treated for several years. The survey ends with comparisons between the results of similar studies effected by other Authors.

[Survival and therapy of multiple myeloma. Apropos of 56 observed cases]. / Considerazioni su sopravvivenza e terapia del mieloma multiplo. A proposito di 56 casi di nostra osservazione.

56 cases of myeloma observed since 1956 are reviewed and it is noted that course, prognosis and survival have changed in relation to the improvement in diagnostic procedures and therapeutic aids. The recent introduction of polychemotherapeutic approaches based on theoretical considerations has not yet been fully vetted in the clinic although a higher percentage of remissions compared to that obtained by monochemotherapy would seem to be confirmed. Personal experience with a new polychemotherapeutic schema in advanced myeloma resistant to monochemotherapy + prednisone is reported.

[Effects of oral glucose, fructose and saccharose loads on blood sugar, insulin and lipids in normal subjects]. / Effetti di un carico orale di glucosio, di fruttosio e di saccarosio sui livelli glicemici, insulinemici e lipidemici in soggetti normali.

Blood sugar, insulin, NEFA, triglycerides and cholesterol were evaluated in metabolically healthy subjects following oral glucose (100 g in 12 subjects), fructose (50 g in 9 subjects), and saccharose (100 g in 9 subjects). As shown in the literature, glucose led to a slight sugar increase at 60', a marked increase in insulin at 60', and a pronounced fall in NEFA at 120'. Fructose had no effect on sugar and NEFA, whereas there was significant and gradual rise in the insulin curve until 180' (P less than 0.01). In the case of saccharose, the changes in blood sugar, insulin and NEFA were slightly less evident than with glucose. No significant alterations in cholesterol and triglyceride levels were noted throughout the experiment.