Allergy to goat's and sheep's milk in a population of cow's milk-allergic children treated with oral immunotherapy.

BACKGROUND: Cow's milk oral immunotherapy (CMOIT) is a recognized treatment for persistent cow's milk (CM) allergy. However, further data are necessary on tolerance to milk from other mammals. OBJECTIVE: To describe the clinical and immunologic features of goat's and sheep's milk (GSM) allergy in patients who tolerated CM after CMOIT. METHODS: Fifty-eight CM-allergic patients who successfully underwent CMOIT in our department were evaluated using skin prick test (SPT), specific immunoglobulin (Ig) E determination, enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA), and controlled oral challenge to assess allergy to GSM. Statistical analysis was carried out to identify markers of allergy to GSM. RESULTS: Fifteen of 58 (25.9%) patients were allergic to either goat's or sheep's milk or to both, as confirmed by a controlled positive oral challenge. Forty-seven percent of all positive oral challenges were classified as anaphylactic reactions. Specific IgE to CM casein, goat's whole milk, and sheep's whole milk was 13.2, 18.0, and 21.4 kU(A)/l in the group of GSM-allergic patients and 6.6, 6.5, and 6.5 kU(A) /l in the GSM-non-allergic patients (p < 0.05). Decision-making cut-off points based on sIgE for diagnosing symptomatic GSM allergy could not be determined. ELISA inhibition assays showed limited cross-reactivity (up to 77.2%) between CM casein and GSM casein in the group of GSM-allergic patients in contrast with almost 100% in GSM-not-allergic patients. CONCLUSION: We found a high prevalence (26%) of allergy to GSM in our population of CM-allergic children treated with oral immunotherapy. Therefore, tolerance to GSM should be assessed in order to provide accurate nutritional advice and minimize life-threatening accidental intake. Specific IgE to CM casein, goat's and sheep's whole milk is a good marker of this allergy. Although CM oral immunotherapy is a specific treatment for CM allergy, it may not be effective against allergy to the milk of other mammals.

Chondrocyte cloning in aging and osteoarthritis of the hip cartilage: morphometric analysis in transgenic mice expressing bovine growth hormone.

An arthritic disorder resembling human osteoarthritis occurs in transgenic mice expressing the fusion gene coding for bovine growth hormone (bGH). In these animals, we performed a morphometric evaluation of cellular density, clonal density and the relationship between both parameters in articular cartilage. These parameters were determined in the femoral head of bGH (+) mice at 1, 6 and 12 months of age and compared to values in the control mice. The transgenic mouse showed a reduction in cellular density of the superficial and middle zones of the articular cartilage with age. In the uncalcified cartilage at 6 and 12 months of age, cellular density was significantly lower in age-matched transgenic mice than in the control group. In the former, the changes in cellular density were accompanied by a gradual reduction in the clonal density in the superficial and middle zones. The clonal density/cellular density ratio was similar in transgenic mice and the control group at 12 months of age. These findings indicate that these transgenic mice develop an osteoarthritic process characterized by loss of cellularity and a gradual decline in chondrocyte cloning in the superficial and middle zones.