Soy allergy is not common in atopic children: a multicenter study.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence of soy allergy (positive skin test and positive challenge test) in a large cohort of atopic children, many of them soy fed early in life for several months. In order to investigate the prevalence of soy allergy, two groups of children were enrolled into the study. The first group comprised a cohort of 505 children with personal history suggestive of food allergy. The second group included 243 children born of atopic parents, who had been soy protein formula fed for the first six months of life for the prevention of cow's milk allergy and who had been prospectively followed up, from birth to 5 years. As regards the prevalence of soy allergy in the cohort of children suffering from allergic disease: 31/505 children (6%) had positive skin prick test to soy, however only six of the 31 children with positive skin prick test to soy had positive challenge test to soy. With regard to the prevalence of soy allergy in the children who had been soy protein formula fed in the first six months of life (second group): 14/243 children (6%) had positive skin prick test to soy, but the double blind placebo control oral food challenge to soy was positive in only one of these 14 children. In conclusion documented soy allergy is not common in atopic children.

Effect of insulin treatment on osteocalcin levels in diabetic children and adolescents.

To investigate bone mineral metabolism in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, serum osteocalcin, a marker of bone formation, was measured in 31 diabetic children at onset of disease and 15 days after metabolic improvement by insulin therapy. As a control group for osteocalcin levels we studied 31 healthy sex- and age-matched children. Mean values of serum osteocalcin at onset of diabetes were significantly lower than in control group (p < 0.001), but we did not find any difference after 15 days of insulin therapy. Osteocalcin and parathyroid hormone concentrations were significantly greater after 15 days of insulin treatment than at onset of disease (p < 0.001 and p < 0.01, respectively). The osteocalcin levels were negatively correlated both with fructosamine and with glycosylated hemoglobin (p < 0.01 and p < 0.001, respectively), and positively correlated with the degree of metabolic acidosis at onset (p < 0.05). Therefore we postulate that during glycometabolic imbalance there is a decrease in bone turnover that could be one of the etiological factors of diabetic osteopenia.

[Neonatal common bile duct calculi. Description of a case]. / Calcolosi del coledoco neonatale. Descrizione di un caso.

Cholelithiasis as a cause of jaundice in the neonatal period is rare. We are going to describe a case of cholestasis with cholangitis due to calculus of choledochus. None of the causes favouring cholelithiasis described in medical studies proved to be present. The diagnosis was made through an ultrasonographic check of the upper abdomen. The case resolved spontaneously. Our case suggests a cautious attitude and careful clinical and echographic monitoring.

[Osteopenia in premature children: an emerging problem]. / Osteopenia del pretermine: un problema emergente.

Osteopenia of preterm newborns is a condition of undermineralization which arises during the first years of life in very low birth-weight infants. The pathogenesis of disease is multifactorial, even if its main mechanism is the inadequate mineral intake (overall the inadequate phosphorus intake). A wide spectrum of signs and symptoms may be observed ranging from overt rickets to asymptomatic conditions. Diagnosis is usually based on either photon or biochemical findings (hypophosphoremia, hyper calciuria, hypophosphaturia). There is not agreement about the prevention and the treatment and about the benefit of any form of mineral supplementation. The aim of our study is a review of the recent studies concerning the osteopenia of prematurity to focus this new problem.

[Use of the Fogarty catheter in endoscopic therapy of ureteral calculi]. / Uso del catéter de Fogarty en la terapia endoscópica de los cálculos de uréter.

After a brief review of the various techniques so far employed in the transurethral manipulation of ureteral calculi, the authors report their experience with the Fogarty catheter. The series includes 24 patients with medium sized or small stones located in the lower third of the ureter; 17 (74%) patients were successfully treated, whereas 7 (26%) had to be operated. The simplicity, rapidity, efficaciousness and innocuity of the aforesaid technique, in opposition to the risks of the other well-known stone-extractors, is emphasized.