Contact dermatitis from Grevillea 'Robyn Gordon'.

Grevillea 'Robyn Gordon' is an Australian hybrid plant which may cause allergic contact dermatitis. Over the past 8 years, it has been planted extensively in Australia and is now being exported to the United States and other Western countries. Recently, an explosion in incidence of contact dermatitis due to this plant has been seen. 24 patients who were suspected of being sensitive to it were patch tested to fresh plant and extracts with confirmation of sensitivity. A cross sensitivity to Toxicodendron was demonstrated clinically and on patch testing. The allergen in Toxicodendron, 3 pentadecylcatechol, is closely linked in chemical structure to 5-pentadecylresorcinol, present in Grevillea banksii and tridecylresorcinol in Grevillea robusta. Patch testing in patients sensitive to Grevillea 'Robyn Gordon' with tridecylresorcinol produced positive reactions, thus implicating the sensitizing rôle of long chain alkyl resorcinols in Grevillea 'Robyn Gordon' allergy. There is a likelihood that this sensitizing potential extends to other plants of the Grevillea genus, e.g., Grevillea robusta. With the spread of Grevillea 'Robyn Gordon' to other markets, this problem will become increasingly common.

[Clinical study of a prepared reducing diet: adequacy of the vitamin-mineral contribution in comparison to the nutritional and immunity status]. / Studio clinico di un preparato dietetico dimagrante: adeguatezza dell'apporto vitaminico-minerale nei confronti dello stato di nutrizione ed immunitario.

The Authors studied the effectiveness and safety of a commercial hypocaloric diet on 11 obese postmenopausal women. During the experimental period 1 meal/day has been replaced with a chemically defined low calories product. Different parameters have been evaluated to assess the nutritional status 1), anthropometric: weight, skinfold thickness, arm muscle circumference; 2) biochemical total plasma proteins, transferrin, vitamins A, E, C, B12, folic acid; plasma iron, hemoglobin, MCV, RBC; 3) immune status (T lymphocytes and immunoglobulins). Moreover blood sugar, cholesterol and triglyceride levels, as well as blood pressure have been taken into account. All the possible side effects and the diet acceptance for all the patients have been scored. After 1 month all the abnormal conditions (weight, cholesterol, blood pressure) improved, while the nutritional status and immune response remained at an optimal level.

Influence of levamisole treatment in old people.

Eight hospitalized people, over 77 years old, have been treated during one month with Levamisole at the dose of 150 mg a day, once a week. They have been compared to 18 controls matched for age. Levamisole raised the number of E rosettes in aged patients. This effect was found to be significant. However the increase of the percentage of E rosettes was not comparable to the percentage found in young healthy subjects. In three subjects the administration of the drug resulted in a fall of auto-antibodies noted before therapy.

[Autoantibodies in advanced old-age]. / Autoanticorpi nell'eta' avanzata.

A variety of autoantibodies (anti-nuclear, anti-mitochondrial, anti-smooth muscle, anti-gastric parietal cell) were measured by indirect immunofluorescence. At least one of such autoantibodies was detected in 65.2% of 46 old people sera (ranging from 76 to 95). Both a decrease in the efficiency of the immune response and a failure of the immunoregulatory mechanisms occurring with age may account for the above findings.