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Objectives: To assess the existence of immunologic alterations, referring to IgG subclasses, in the respiratory allergic pathology in the childhood., Material and Methods: This is a prospective study that compares the IgG subclasses levels in a sample of patient with allergic breathing illness (n = 169) and a group control (n = 130) with ages range from one month to 13 years old. The statistical analysis includes a descriptive statistic and a comparative statistic carrying out comparison of means between both groups with the Welch test and the Student's T test., Results: The mean rate of IgG1 in the group with breathing allergic pathology being of 578,1 mg/dl and in the control group, being of 632,78 mg/dl. The mean rate of IgG2 in the group with breathing allergic pathology being of 106,12 mg/dl and in the control group, being of 142,38 mg/dl. The mean rate of IgG3 in the group with breathing allergic pathology being of 53,73 mg/dl and in the control group, being of 63,78 mg/dl. The children with breathing allergic pathology have significantly decreased IgG1, IgG2, IgG3 levels in comparison to the control group (p < 0.001). The mean rate of IgG4 in the group with breathing allergic pathology being of 25,86 mg/dl and in the control group, being of 13,89 mg/dl. The children with breathing allergic pathology have significantly elevated IgG4 levels in comparison to the control group (p < 0.001)., Conclusions: The findings obtained suggest that an relation exists in the breathing allergic processes with the IgG subclasses levels disturbances and also that there is an alteration of the immune response maturation in relation to subclasses IgG1, IgG2, IgG3. The valuation of the levels of these immunoglobulins can be useful in the pathogenic diagnosis of the allergic processes.

Objective: Our objective was to study the correlations between weight and length and weight index and brachial areas in healthy term newborns as indicators of nutritional status., Patients and Methods: We studied 794 consecutive Caucasian newborns, 377 male and 417 females, with gestational ages of 39 +/- 09 weeks and adequate weights. We measured weight, length, weight/length index, body mass index and weight index. Measurements of the arm perimeter and tricipital skinfold were used to calculate the fatty, lean and total areas by two different methods. Mean, standard deviation and percentiles were utilized in the measurements. The Student's t-test was used to calculate differences and Pearson's test for correlations., Results: We found that weight, length and weight/length indexes were higher in males than in females, except for the weight index. Brachial areas and parameter were higher in females, except for the lean area. We did not find significant differences between gender in brachial measurements calculated by the different methods. Among the males, we found a high degree of correlation between weight and the weight/length index (r = 0.963; p < 0.0001), and weight and total body area (r = 0.649; p < 0.0001). Similar data were obtained among females, where in addition a high correlation was found between the fat percentage and the body mass index (BMI, r = 0.223; p < 0.0001), as well as between brachial areas and BMI in both genders (p < 0.0001)., Conclusions: In normal newborns, the brachial areas, taken as indicators of body composition, are statistically significantly correlated with the anthropometric parameters widely used to measure the nutritional status of newborns.

The authors studied the placental transfer of IgG subclasses in 43 newborns (NB) and their mothers. All the observations included low-risk pregnancies and full-term deliveries. The values expressed in arithmetric mean +/- standard deviation (means +/- SD), and referred in mg %, showed the following results: maternal Ig Gtotal 1,183 +/- 237 versus (vs.) NBG 1,179 +/- 187; maternal Ig G1 792 +/- 230 vs. NB 822 +/- 124; maternal Ig G2 138 +/- 77 vs. NB 209 +/- 70; maternal Ig G3 48 +/- 33 vs. NB 95 +/- 30, and maternal Ig G4 10 +/- 8 vs. NB 4.9 +/- 2. The relation between the average levels of maternal and cord serum was 1, 1.5, 1.9 and 0.48 for Ig G1, Ig G2, Ig G3 and Ig G4, respectively. It was also proved a maximum decrease in the levels of the subclasses in the first three months for the Ig G3, a percentage being noticed in the third month, in relation to the NB level, of 18, 29, 1.9 and 19% for Ig G1, Ig G2, Ig G3 and Ig G4, respectively. After primovaccination, a response was produced and it affected the 4 subclasses: Ig G1 845 mg %, Ig G2 229 mg %, Ig G3 38 mg % and Ig G4 7.44 mg %, with an increment in relation to prevaccination values of 5.5, 3.7, 20.7 and 12.4, respectively. The authors concluded by showing reference patterns in the active placental transfer of Ig G subclasses in normal full-term newborns.

345 infants (179 boys and 166 girls) have been studied during the first year of life. The social, economic and education characteristics correspond with III category of Graffar. Breast-feeding in 80 per 100% of the cases was the initial feeding. Beikost was introduced in the 5th month +/- 8 days. The increasing weight is higher in the children fed with adapted formula that those who had made it through breast-feeding, with statistical differences (p less than 0.01) in boys and girls between the third and fifth month. Girls also showed gaining in weight with significant differences between the fifth and seventh month (p less than 0.05). According to the comparative study carried out in the twelfth month those boys fed with adapted formula show higher values of the sum of the skinfold thickness and fat percentage (p less than 0.05), than those who were breast-fed for a period of live months or more; the rest of analyzed parameters (weight, length, body mass, Roher or K index) do not show any significant differences in the study carried out in both groups of infants in the first year of life.

The authors present three cases of urticaria pigmentosa (UP), one with a very early beginning and two with a late beginning. The clinical symptoms orient the diagnosis of the three cases in relation to maculopapular exanthema of a dark pink color, brown macules and, in all cases, the presence of Darier's sign. As normal, the clinical diagnosis was confirmed by the histopathological examination of the skin. The evolution of the three patients was favorable in all cases, with the disappearance of symptoms in one case. In the other two cases the process is stabilized, and at no time have systemic manifestations been found. The relative rareness of UP in infancy, an expression of a proliferation of the reticuloendothelial system (RES) on a mast cell level with different evolutional possibilities, has been the justifying factor in the presentation of these new cases.

This report analyses erythrocyte insulin binding and specific erythrocyte insulin receptors in the neonatal period. Authors have studied thirty normal newborns who had an adequate weight for their gestational age and another fifteen who were asymmetric intrauterine retarded growth. Cord blood samples were collected and insulin binding, insulin receptors, blood glucose concentration, serum immunoreactive insulin, serum C-peptide concentration and molar ratio of C-peptide to insulin were determined. Insulin and C-peptide sera concentrations suggest that basal insulin secretion in small for data newborns is similar to term infants. Significantly minor affinity constant (p = 0.05) and significantly major dissociation constant (p = 0.05) in small for date infants versus newborns adequately weighted for their gestational age, justify the increased sensitivity to insulin as it happens in other states of chronic undernutrition. In small for date infants, number of sites per cell correlates negatively (r = -0.57, p less than 0.05) with birth weight. Up regulation mechanism that modulates receptors concentration could explain this phenomenon.