title: Different clinical allergological features ofTaenia soliuminfestation.
abstract: The tapewormTaenia(T.)soliumcan be responsible for two different conditions: taeniasis and cysticercosis. Helminth infections in human host cause an immune response associated with elevated levels of IgE, tissue eosinophilia and mastocytosis, and with the presence of CD4+ T cells that preferentially produce IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13. Individuals exposed to helminth infections may have allergic inflammatory responses to parasites and parasite antigens. PubMed search of human cases of allergic reactions occurring duringT. soliuminfestation was performed combining the terms (allergy, urticaria, angioedema, asthma, anaphylaxis) withT. solium. A study was considered eligible for inclusion in the review if it reported data on patients withT. soliuminfestation who had signs or symptoms of allergy. In literature we found six articles reporting the association between an allergic reaction andT. soliuminfestation: two cases of urticaria, two cases of relapsing angioedema, one case of asthma and two cases of anaphylaxis. Despite the large diffusion ofT. soliuminfestation, we found only a few cases of concomitant allergic reaction and the presence of Taenia in the host. The association betweenT. soliuminfestation and allergic manifestations has never been clearly demonstrated, and in absence of a well-documented causality the hypotheses are merely speculative. Therefore, the association between Taenia infection and allergy needs to be thoroughly studied to better clarify if this association may really exist and which is the pathogenetic mechanism supported.
authors.affiliation: School and Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University Hospital "G. Martino", Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Paola Lucia
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Minciullo
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Promotion Sciences and Mother and Child Care "G. D'Alessandro", University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cascio
authors.affiliation: School and Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University Hospital "G. Martino", Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Isola
authors.affiliation: School and Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University Hospital "G. Martino", Messina, Italy ; Institute of Applied Sciences and Intelligent Systems (ISASI), Messina Unit, Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Sebastiano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gangemi
keywords: Allergy; Anaphylaxis; Angioedema; Asthma; Cysticercosis; Taenia solium; Urticaria