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Matteo Gelardi,1 Mariangela Bosoni,2 Marco Morelli,2 Silvia Beretta,2 Cristoforo Incorvaia,3 Serena Buttafava,4 Massimo Landi,5 Simonetta Masieri,6 Franco Frati,4 Nicola Quaranta,1 Gian Vincenzo Zuccotti21Otolaryngology Section, Department of Neuroscience and Sensory Organs, University of Bari, 2Department of Pediatrics, Luigi Sacco Hospital, University of Milan, 3Allergy/Pulmonary Rehabilitation Unit, ICP Hospital, 4Medical and Scientific Department, Stallergenes Italy, Milan, 5Department of Pediatrics, ASL TO1, Turin, 6Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, ItalyBackground: In patients polysensitized to pollen allergens, the priming effect, by which the sensitivity of the nasal mucosa to an allergen is increased by the previous exposure to another allergen, is a known phenomenon. This study was aimed at evaluating the degree of nasal inflammation, assessed by nasal cytology, in children with allergic rhinitis (AR) from ragweed pollen according to being monosensitized or polysensitized.Methods: The study included 47 children. Of them, 24 suffered from AR caused by sensitization to grass pollen and ragweed pollen (group A) and 23 were sensitized only to ragweed pollen (group B). In all patients, the severity of AR was assessed according to the Allergic Rhinitis and Its Impact on Asthma guidelines, and comorbidities were also evaluated.Results: In group A, 16.7% of children had a mild intermittent AR, 4.2% a moderate-to-severe intermittent, 33.3% a mild persistent, and 45.8% a moderate-to-severe persistent; in group B, 26.1% of children had a mild intermittent AR, 0% a moderate-to-severe intermittent, 52.2% a mild persistent, and 21.7% a moderate-to-severe persistent. No significant difference was detected in the number of the considered comorbidities between the two groups. The cell counts of neutrophils, eosinophils, lymphocytes/plasma cells, and mast cells were high but not significantly different in the two groups.Conclusion: These

Giorgio CiprandiMedicine Department, IRCCS-Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria San Martino, Genoa, ItalyAfter a century of allergen immunotherapy (AIT), for the first time, the Italian Agency for Drugs (AIFA [Agenzia italiana per il farmaco]) has just approved the full reimbursement (A class) for an AIT product, such as the 5-grass pollen tablet with the indication for treating allergic rhinitis (AR).On the other hand, AR represents a relevant health issue as the worldwide prevalence is approximately 20%.1 AR is sustained by an IgE-mediated inflammatory reaction that in turn induces typical symptom occurrence. Allergic inflammation is promoted by an allergen-specific defect of T-regulatory cells and a Th2 polarization.2 This impaired immune response characterizes the two main peculiarities of allergic reaction: systemic IgE production and nasal eosinophil infiltrate.3 AR has also a significant social burden both in terms of high costs and individual complaints, mainly negatively affecting quality of life.

Frati F, Cecchi L, Scala E, Ridolo E, Dell’Albani I, Makrì E, Pajno GB, Incorvaia C. Biologics: Targets and Therapy. 2014;8:221–226.On page 223, Figure 1 should be replaced with the revised version as shown below:On page 224, line 4 in the left column, "many" should be replaced with "all".On page 224, line 7 in the left column, "but only the major allergen Phl p 5 is measured in μg" should be replaced with "such as group 1 and group 5 allergens (Figure1, Table 2)".On page 224, line 9 in the left column, the reference to "(Figure 1)" should be removed.Read the original article

Matteo Gelardi,1 Diego G Peroni,2 Cristoforo Incorvaia,3 Nicola Quaranta,1 Concetta De Luca,1 Salvatore Barberi,4 Ilaria Dell'Albani,5 Massimo Landi,6 Franco Frati,5 Olivier de Beaumont7 1Otolaryngology Unit, Department of Neuroscience and Sensory Organs, University of Bari, Bari, Italy; 2Department of Pediatrics, University of Verona, Verona, Italy; 3Allergy/Pulmonary Rehabilitation, ICP Hospital, Milan, Italy; 4Department of Pediatrics, San Paolo Hospital, Milan, Italy; 5Medical and Scientific Department, Stallergenes, Milan, Italy; 6Department of Pediatrics, National Healthcare System, ASL TO1, Turin, Italy; 7Medical Affairs Department, Stallergenes, Antony, France Background: House dust mites (HDMs) are a major cause of allergic rhinitis (AR) and asthma worldwide. Recent studies suggested that the allergen load presents seasonal modifications, giving rise to seasonal variation in nasal inflammation and symptoms. The aim of this study was to evaluate by nasal cytology whether nasal inflammation in mite-allergic patients changes with the seasons of the year. Methods: The study included 16 patients (seven males and nine females, mean age 38.1 years) with persistent AR caused by monosensitization to HDMs. Nasal cytology was performed in all patients once monthly for 1 year. Results: Nasal cytology showed that the cells most commonly detected in the nasal mucosa were neutrophils. During the period from October to April, a peak in the number of neutrophils and also the presence of significant numbers of eosinophils, mast cells, and lymphocytes/plasma cells were found, which shows the occurrence of more intense inflammation during these months. Conclusion: Nasal cytology provides useful data in detecting nasal inflammation and its association with the clinical stage of AR. The seasonal variations in nasal cytology are likely to be induced by the fluctuations in the HDM allergen that have been uncovered in recent investigations. Keywords: allergens, allergic rhi

Franco Frati,1 Lorenzo Cecchi,2,3 Enrico Scala,4 Erminia Ridolo,5 Ilaria Dell'Albani,1 Eleni Makrì,6 Giovanni Pajno,7 Cristoforo Incorvaia61Medical and Scientific Department, Stallergenes, Milan, Italy; 2Interdepartmental Centre of Bioclimatology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy; 3Allergy and Clinical Immunology Section, Azienda Sanitaria di Prato, Prato, Italy; 4Experimental Allergy Unit, IDI-IRCCS, Rome, Italy; 5Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Parma, Parma, Italy; 6Allergy/Pulmonary Rehabilitation, ICP Hospital, Milan, Italy; 7Department of Pediatrics, Allergy Unit, University of Messina, Messina, ItalyAbstract: The molecular allergy technique, currently defined as component-resolved diagnosis, significantly improved the diagnosis of allergy, allowing for differentiation between molecules actually responsible for clinical symptoms (genuine sensitizers) and those simply cross-reacting or shared by several sources (panallergens), thus influencing the appropriate management of a patient's allergy. This also concerns allergen immunotherapy (AIT), which may be prescribed more precisely based on the component-resolved diagnosis results. However, the advance in diagnosis needs to be mirrored in AIT. According to consensus documents and to expectations of specialists, therapy should be based on standardized extracts containing measured amounts of the clinically relevant molecules, ie, the major allergens. The new generation of extracts for sublingual immunotherapy fulfills these requirements and are thus defined as biomolecular (BM). BM refers to natural extracts with a defined content of major allergens in micrograms. All Staloral BM products are indicated for the treatment of allergic rhinitis with or without asthma. The effectiveness of AIT is related to its ability to modify the immunological response of allergic subjects. The 5-grass and house dust mite extracts were evaluated addressing the T helper

Elide Anna Pastorello,1 Laura Losappio,1 Stefania Milani,2 Giuseppina Manzotti,3 Valentina Fanelli,4 Valerio Pravettoni,5 Fabio Agostinis,6 Alberto Flores D’Arcais,7 Ilaria Dell'Albani,8 Paola Puccinelli,9 Cristoforo Incorvaia,10 Franco Frati81Allergy and Immunology Department, Niguarda Hospital, Milan, 2Allergy Department, San Marco General Hospital, Bergamo, 3Allergy Department, Treviglio Hospital, Bergamo, 4Allergy Department, Italian Institute for Auxology, Milan, 5Clinical Allergy and Immunology Unit, Foundation IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, 6Department of Pediatrics, Riuniti Hospital, Bergamo, 7Department of Pediatrics, Legnano Hospital, Milan, 8Medical and Scientific Department, Stallergenes Italy, Milan, 9Regulatory Department, Stallergenes Italy, Milan, 10Allergy/Pulmonary Rehabilitation, ICP Hospital, Milan, ItalyBackground: An important subpopulation in allergic rhinitis is represented by patients with severe form of disease that is not responsive to drug treatment. It has been reported that grass pollen subcutaneous immunotherapy is effective in drug-resistant patients. In a real-life study, we evaluated the efficacy of 5-grass pollen tablets in patients with grass pollen-induced allergic rhinitis not responsive to drug therapy.Methods: We carried out this multicenter observational study in adults and adolescents with grass-induced allergic rhinitis not responsive to drug therapy who were treated for a year with 5-grass pollen tablets. Clinical data collected before and after sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) included Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) classification of allergic rhinitis, response to therapy, and patient satisfaction.Results: Forty-seven patients entered the study. By ARIA classification, three patients had moderate to severe intermittent allergic rhinitis, ten had mild persistent allergic rhinitis, and 34 had moderate to severe persistent allergic rhinitis. There were no ca

Franco Frati,1 Cristoforo Incorvaia,2 Marie David,3 Silvia Scurati,3 Simona Seta,4 Guglielmo Padua,4 Eleonora Cattaneo,1 Carlo Cavaliere,5 Alessia Di Rienzo,6 Ilaria Dell'Albani,1 Paola Puccinelli11Medical and Scientific and Regulatory Department, Stallergenes, Milan, Italy; 2Allergy/Pulmonary Rehabilitation, ICP Hospital, Milan, Italy; 3Laboratoire Stallergenes, Antony, France; 4Marketing Department, Stallergenes, Milan, Italy; 5Ear, Nose and Throat Department, University Sapienza, Rome, Italy; 6Azienda Sanitaria Locale, Allergology Service, Frosinone, ItalyAbstract: The house dust mite is a major cause of respiratory allergy worldwide. The management of mite allergy is based on avoidance measures, drug treatment, and allergen immunotherapy, but only allergen immunotherapy is able to modify the natural history of the disease. Injectable subcutaneous immunotherapy was introduced a century ago, while sublingual immunotherapy was proposed in the 1980s and emerged in the ensuing years as an effective and safe option to subcutaneous immunotherapy. However, the quality of the extracts to be used in allergen immunotherapy is crucial for the success of treatment. The mite extract for sublingual immunotherapy known as Staloral 300 was developed to offer optimal characteristics concerning the mite culture medium, standardization, and allergen dose. Double-blind, placebo-controlled trials with Staloral 300 have provided a substantial part of the clinical evidence analyzed in a meta-analysis of the efficacy of allergen immunotherapy in mite-induced rhinitis and asthma. Safety and tolerability are very good, mild local reactions in the mouth being the most common side effect. This makes it feasible to carry out sublingual immunotherapy for the 3–5-year duration needed to achieve long-lasting tolerance to the specific allergen. The performance of Staloral 300 may provide optimal conditions for an effective and safe sublingual immunotherapy in patients with mite

Cristoforo Incorvaia1, Simonetta Masieri2, Silvia Scurati3, Silvia Soffia3, Paola Puccinelli3, Franco Frati31Allergy/Pulmonary rehabilitation, Istituti Clinici di Perfezionamento, Milan, Italy; 2ENT Clinic, University La Sapienza, Rome, Italy; 3Medical and Scientific Department, Stallergenes, Milan, ItalyAbstract: Allergic rhinitis is a very common disease affecting about 20% of people. It may be treated by allergen avoidance when possible, by antiallergic drugs such as antihistamines and topical corticosteroids, and by allergen-specific immunotherapy. The latter is the only treatment able to act on the causes and not only on the symptoms of respiratory allergy and is able to maintain its efficacy even after stopping, provided an adequate duration of treatment of 3–5 years is ensured. Sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) was introduced in the 1990s as a possible solution to the problem of adverse systemic reactions to subcutaneous immunotherapy and has been demonstrated by more than 50 trials and globally evaluated thus far by five meta-analyses as an effective and safe treatment for allergic rhinitis. Life-threatening reactions are extremely rare. However, it is important to note that clinical efficacy occurs only if SLIT meets its needs, ie, sufficiently high doses are regularly administered for at least 3 consecutive years. This is often overlooked in the current practice and may prevent the same success reported by trials from being achieved.Keywords: allergic rhinitis, sublingual immunotherapy, efficacy, safety, compliance, meta-analysis&nbsp

Silvia Scurati1, Franco Frati1, Gianni Passalacqua2, Paola Puccinelli1, Cecile Hilaire1, Cristoforo Incorvaia3, Italian Study Group on SLIT Compliance 1Scientific and Medical Department, Stallergenes, Milan, Italy; 2Allergy and Respiratory Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Genoa; 3Allergy/Pulmonary Rehabilitation, ICP Hospital, Milan, ItalyObjectives: Sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) is a viable alternative to subcutaneous immunotherapy to treat allergic rhinitis and asthma, and is widely used in clinical practice in many European countries. The clinical efficacy of SLIT has been established in a number of clinical trials and meta-analyses. However, because SLIT is self-administered by patients without medical supervision, the degree of patient adherence with treatment is still a concern. The objective of this study was to evaluate the perception by allergists of issues related to SLIT adherence.Methods: We performed a questionnaire-based survey of 296 Italian allergists, based on the adherence issues known from previous studies. The perception of importance of each item was assessed by a VAS scale ranging from 0 to 10.Results: Patient perception of clinical efficacy was considered the most important factor (ranked 1 by 54% of allergists), followed by the possibility of reimbursement (ranked 1 by 34%), and by the absence of side effects (ranked 1 by 21%). Patient education, regular follow-up, and ease of use of SLIT were ranked first by less than 20% of allergists.Conclusion: These findings indicate that clinical efficacy, cost, and side effects are perceived as the major issues influencing patient adherence to SLIT, and that further improvement of adherence is likely to be achieved by improving the patient information provided by prescribers.Keywords: adherence, sublingual immunotherapy, efficacy, cost, side effects

Franco Frati1,2, Silvia Scurati1, Paola Puccinelli1, Marie David3, Cecile Hilaire4, Maurizio Capecce4, Francesco Marcucci2, Cristoforo Incorvaia51Medical and Scientific Department, Stallergenes, Milan, Italy; 2University Department of Medical and Surgical Specialties and Public Health, Perugia, Italy; 3Laboratoire Stallergenes, Antony, France; 4Marketing Department, Stallergenes, Milan, Italy; 5Allergy/Pulmonary Rehabilitation Unit, ICP Hospital, Milan, ItalyAbstract: Grass pollen is a very common cause of allergic rhinitis and asthma. The only treatment targeting the underlying causes of allergy is immunotherapy (IT). Sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) has been introduced to solve the problem of systemic reactions to subcutaneous IT (SCIT). This article evaluates the characteristics of the allergen extract, Staloral, in terms of practical administration, effectiveness, safety, and mechanism of action. Efficacy data were obtained from double-blind, placebo-controlled studies using Staloral in patients sensitized to grass pollen, while practical administration, cost-effectiveness, and mechanism of action data were provided by well designed studies. The efficacy and safety of Staloral, as demonstrated by review of published studies which used doses up to 1125 times those administered with SCIT, shows that this allergen extract has optimal characteristics for treating patients with seasonal allergies due to grass pollens. The main mechanism of action is the interaction between dendritic cells of the oral mucosa and the subsequent tolerance induced in T-cells.Keywords: allergen extracts, high-dose, efficacy, safety, sublingual immunotherapy

Cristoforo Incorvaia1, Marina Mauro2, Erminia Ridolo3, Paola Puccinelli4, Massimiliano Liuzzo4, Silvia Scurati4, Franco Frati4,51Allergy/Pulmonary rehabilitation Unit, ICP Hospital, Milan, Italy; 2Allergy Unit, Sant’Anna Hospital, Como, Italy; 3University Department of Clinical Sciences, Parma, Italy; 4Medical and Scientific Department, Stallergenes, Milan, Italy; 5Pediatrics, University Department of Medical and Surgical Specialty and Public Health, Perugia, ItalyBackground: Allergen immunotherapy (IT) is an effective treatment of respiratory allergy, but requires strict rules of performance. This makes compliance particularly relevant, but thus far only a few studies have investigated this issue.Methods: We reviewed all the available articles on compliance and adherence with IT in its different forms of administration, ie, subcutaneous (SCIT), sublingual (SLIT), and local nasal (LNIT).Results: Early studies, when only SCIT was available, reported a low compliance, ranging from 45% to 60%, but the demanding schedules used, with very frequent injections, accounted for this outcome, as shown by patients’ recognition of inconvenience as the major cause of noncompliance. The most recent studies reported a good compliance, estimated in 75% to 90%, to both SCIT and SLIT, inconvenience remaining the major cause of noncompliance, followed by cost of the treatment. The only study addressing LNIT found a very poor compliance (27%), the major cause being the side effects, with repeated nasal reactions to the allergen extract.Conclusions: Adequate education of patients and optimization of administration schedules, with fine balancing between dose effectiveness and cost, are the factors most likely to achieve further improvement of compliance with IT.Keywords: allergen immunotherapy, subcutaneous, sublingual, local nasal, compliance, adherence

Cristoforo Incorvaia1, Gian Galeazzo Riario-Sforza1, Chiara Pravettoni1, Mona-Rita Yacoub2, Franco Frati31Pulmonary Rehabilitation Unit, ICP Hospital, Milan, Italy; 2Allergy and Rheumatology Unit, IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital, Milan, Italy; 3Institute of Pediatrics, Department of Medical and Surgical specialty and Public Health, University of Perugia, Policlinico Monteluce, Perugia, ItalyAbstract: Disease exacerbations are an important aspect of COPD, because they affect its course and are associated with higher lung function decline. On the other hand, data obtained by biopsies have demonstrated that the progression of COPD is related to an increasing impairment of small airways. We sought to evaluate the small airway impairment (FEF25–75) in two groups of COPD patients (each group had 37 subjects) in relation to the frequency of exacerbations and the effectiveness of treatment with tiotropium bromide on the small airway impairment. The mean number of exacerbations was 3.6/year and 1.38/year in frequent and in infrequent exacerbators, respectively (p < 0.001). The mean value of FEF25–75 at baseline was 624 mL and 865 mL in frequent and in infrequent exacerbators respectively (p = 0.002). The changes in respiratory parameters versus baseline showed increases in mean FEV1, FVC, and FEF25–75 in both groups but only the increase in FEF25–75 in frequent exacerbators was statistically significantly (p = 0.013). During the 3-month period of the study the mean number of exacerbations was 0.66 in frequent and 0.12 in infrequent exacerbators. These findings indicate that COPD patients with frequent exacerbations have a higher impairment of small airways. Treatment with tiotropium in COPD subjects with frequent exacerbations proved to be effective in improving small airway impairment.Keywords: COPD, exacerbations, small airways, FEF25–75, tiotropium

Cristoforo Incorvaia1, Marina Mauro2, Gian Galeazzo Riario-Sforza1,Franco Frati3, Francesco Tarantini4, Maurizio Caserini41Allergy/Pulmonary rehabilitation, ICP Hospital, Milan, Italy; 2Allergy Unit, Sant’Anna Hospital, Como, Italy; 3University Department of Obstetric, Gynaecologic and Pediatric Sciences, Perugia, Italy; 4Respiratory Clinical Research, Novartis Farma S.p.A., Origgio, ItalyAbstract: IgE antibodies are a pivotal factor in pathophysiology of allergic diseases, and the possibility of reducing their level by anti-IgE has long been envisioned. Following several attempts, an effective biologic agent was obtained with the recombinant humanized monoclonal antibody (rhuMAb)-E25, known as omalizumab. A number of controlled clinical trials demonstrated its efficacy and safety in the treatment of severe allergic asthma uncontrolled by standard drug treatment with maximal recommended doses, and treatment with omalizumab is currently included in international guidelines on asthma management. Other studies reported a clear effectiveness also in allergic rhinitis, but the cost of the anti-IgE treatment suggests its use in patients with rhinitis concomitant with asthma. Other indications to be further investigated are skin disorders such as atopic dermatitis and IgE-mediated urticaria, as well as adverse reactions to foods, with a particularly important role in preventing food-induced anaphylaxis. Finally, there are data indicating the usefulness of omalizumab when used in combination with allergen specific immunotherapy, in terms of reducing the adverse reactions to treatment and increasing the clinical efficacy.Keywords: IgE, anti-IgE, omalizumab, allergic asthma, allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, food allergy, allergen immunotherapy