0000000000235877
AUTHOR
Donato Greco
showing 4 related works from this author
Preventing and managing herpes zoster: key actions to foster healthy aging
2015
Population aging is the demographic phenomenon characterizing all countries in the world, and it is challenging the national infrastructures, in particular health systems. However, aging itself is not associated with increased medical spending, but disability and comorbidity that affect older individuals are the actual drivers for health expenditures. Therefore, if people age in better health, medical spending may be significantly reduced. Preventative interventions proved to be effective in reducing/preventing disease and disability and often found to be cost effective, include diet and exercise interventions, medications, routine disease screenings, and immunizations. Vaccination can prot…
A Controlled Trial of Two Acellular Vaccines and One Whole-Cell Vaccine against Pertussis
1996
Background Concern about both safety and efficacy has made the use of whole-cell pertussis vaccines controversial. In some European countries, including Italy, the rate of vaccination against pertussis is low. Methods We conducted a double-blind trial in Italy in which infants were randomly assigned to vaccination at two, four, and six months of age with an acellular pertussis vaccine together with diphtheria and tetanus toxoids (DTP); a DTP vaccine containing whole-cell pertussis (manufactured by Connaught Laboratories); or diphtheria and tetanus toxoids without pertussis (DT). The acellular DTP vaccine was either one containing filamentous hemagglutinin, pertactin, and pertussis toxin ina…
Reducing the burden of Herpes Zoster in Italy.
2015
Herpes Zoster (HZ) is a viral disease with painful neuro-dermatologic manifestations. Incidence increases with age. In Italy, the estimated incidence is 6.3 cases/1000 person/year; hospital admissions are less than 2%, 69% in patients aged over 65 years. The most frequent complication of HZ is Post-Herpetic Neuralgia (PHN) characterized by metameric pain, allodynia, and hyperalgesia. In Italy 20.6% and 9.2% of HZ patients experience PHN after 3 and 6 months, respectively. Available antiviral and analgesic treatments are relatively unsatisfactory in reducing pain and length of the disease. Prevention has recently become possible with the live attenuated vaccine Oka/Merck. Clinical studies sh…
Persistence of protection through 33 months of age provided by immunization in infancy with two three-component acellular pertussis vaccines
1998
Abstract A large, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial in Italy on two three-component pertussis vaccines, given as DTaP in infancy, one manufactured by SmithKline and Beecham (SB) and one by Chiron Biocine (CB), found each vaccine to be 84% efficacious through the average age of 24 months. The cohort of children envolled in the trial was followed with unmodified case ascertainment procedures for nine additional calendar months, during which partial unblinding occurred, for the unvaccinated randomized group. For the DTaP groups, the specific vaccine assignment remained double-blinded throughout the entire additional observation period. Pertussis was defined as paroxysmal cough last…