BACKGROUND: The association between type 1 diabetes and immunoglobulin A deficiency (IgA-D) has long been recognized in many populations. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of IgA-D in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus all coming from a defined geographical area and to investigate the clinical features of these subjects. METHODS: The records of 150 consecutive patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus referred in a period of one year were analyzed. A detailed history was obtained for each patient. Information was collected concerning age, gender, time of onset of diabetes, and presence of other autoimmune diseases. RESULTS: Out of 150 patients with type 1 diabetes, eight (5.3%) had a diagnosis of IgA-D. There were one female and seven male; all these patients were diagnosed by screening: none of them had history of recurrent infections. Autoimmune thyroiditis was coexisting in five patients (62%). Although other associated autoimmune disorders were found in a number of patients, there was no different prevalence rate in IgA deficient patients. CONCLUSION: This study shows the prevalence of IgA-D in Sicilian patients with type 1 diabetes as 5.3% which is much higher than reported in other Italian studies. Moreover, our data show a high prevalence of IgA-D in male gender and describe thyroiditis as the most frequent autoimmune disease present in these patients. Finally, in our case report, IgA-D diagnosis always followed routine IgA measurement when case finding for celiac disease with no history of recurrent infections in each patient.
Autoimmune Diseases ; Celiac Disease ; Cross-Sectional Studies* ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1* ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; IgA Deficiency ; Immunoglobulin A* ; Male ; Mass Screening ; Prevalence ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyroiditis ; Thyroiditis, Autoimmune

This brief report documents the safety and efficacy of high-dose tigecycline as a salvagetherapy in in a case series of five patients with serious central nervous system (CNS) rocky mountain spotted fever (RMSF). These severily ill patients were unable to take any oral drug therapy, parenteral doxycycline was unavailable and absorption of oral doxycycline was a concern in these critically ill patients. As far as we know, we report the successfull use of tigecycline for the treatment of rickettsial meningitis for the first time in Italy. We suggest more studies on tigecycline in severe CNS infections from Rickettsia species and multi-drug resistant bacteria, especially the use of tigecycline at higher than standard doses in these lifethreathening infectious diseases.

We report a case of Hymenolepis diminuta infection in a 2-year-old child living in a suburban area of Catania, Italy. This case was initially referred to us as Dipylidium caninum infection, which was not cured after being treated twice with mebendazole. However, by analyzing the clinical presentation and stool samples we arrived to the diagnosis of H. diminuta infection. The case presented with atypical allergic manifestations which had never been reported as clinical features of symptomatic H. diminuta infection; remittent fever with abdominal pain, diffuse cutaneous itching, transient thoracic rash, and arthromyalgias. The patient was treated with a 7-day cycle of oral niclosamide, which proved to be safe and effective. This case report emphasizes that a correct parasitological diagnosis requires adequate district laboratories and trained personnel. In addition, we recommend the importance of reporting all H. diminuta infection cases, in order to improve knowledge on epidemiology, clinical presentation, and treatment protocols.