Maria Barrale

Dr. Maria Barrale


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

6Years (2021-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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21 April 2021 in Vaccines
Verified
Journal Article
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Vincenzo RestivoVincenzo Restivo
Vincenzo Restivo
Giuseppina CandoreGiuseppina Candore
Giuseppina Candore
MBMaria Barrale
Maria Barrale
ECEster Caravello
Ester Caravello
GGGiorgio Graziano
Giorgio Graziano
IBIgnazio Brusca
Ignazio Brusca
The main contraindication to the anti-SARS CoV2 vaccine is an anaphylactic reaction to a vaccine component. The need to vaccinate allergic people who are at higher risk can be of public health interest and this report shows a case of an allergic reaction to PEG of a HCW who had received the first dose of anti-SARS CoV2 vaccine. For 5 h after the administration of the vaccine, she had the appearance of erythematous spots on the face and neck, and a feeling of a slurred mouth and hoarseness. In order to treat the event, she was administered 8 mg intravenous dexamethasone, 1 vial intravenous chlorphenamine maleate, 250 mL intravenous 0.9% NaCl, and conventional oxygen therapy (2 L/min) with complete resolution of the suspected adverse drug reaction. According to the contraindication to the cutaneous test for this patient, BAT was used for further investigations. The patient who suffered the adverse reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine and other five allergic patients who did not report any adverse reaction after the vaccination were tested. There was a significant activation of the vaccine-reactive patient’s basophils with 14.79 CD203chigh% at the concentration of 0.2 mg/mL, while other patients were negative. People who have a confirmed reaction to a vaccine component should undergo further investigation to discover other possible cross-reactions and select the right vaccine to immunize them.

30 May 2023 in Pathogens
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Journal Article
Open access
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IBIgnazio Brusca
Ignazio Brusca
MBMaria Barrale
Maria Barrale
MZMaurizio Zarcone
Maurizio Zarcone
SFSanto Fruscione
Santo Fruscione
RORosa Onida
Rosa Onida
WALTER MAZZUCCOWALTER MAZZUCCO
WALTER MAZZUCCO
The rising popularity of undercooked or raw seafood containing larvae of the Anisakis parasite has led to issues of public health concern due to allergic manifestations. We conducted an observational study on the use of an innovative Anisakis allergy diagnostic algorithm in a convenience sample of 53 allergic outpatients recruited in Western Sicily, between April 2021 and March 2022. We included individuals with an anamnesis suggestive of IgE sensitization to Anisakis reporting clinical manifestation in the last month due to allergic reactions after eating fresh fish, or in subjects at high exposure risk with sea products while abstaining from fish ingestion, excluding those with documented fish sensitization. Outpatients were tested via Skin Prick Test, IgE-specific dosage and Basophil Activation Test (BAT). Twenty-six outpatients were diagnosed with Anisakis, while 27 with Chronic Urticaria (CU). We found a seven-fold excess risk for Anisakis (p4) positivity in the Anisakis allergic outpatients, as compared to the CU ones. BAT showed the best diagnostic accuracy (92.45%) and specificity (100%), while specific IgE to Ascaris (p1) documented the best sensitivity (92.31%) but a very low specificity (37.04%). In conclusion, our findings may represent a potentially useful contribution to the future development of updated clinical guidelines.

5 September 2024 in Foods
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
SFSanto Fruscione
Santo Fruscione
MBMaria Barrale
Maria Barrale
MZMaurizio Zarcone
Maurizio Zarcone
DADavide Alba
Davide Alba
BRBarbara Ravazzolo
Barbara Ravazzolo
WALTER MAZZUCCOWALTER MAZZUCCO
WALTER MAZZUCCO
Dietary changes expose consumers to risks from Anisakis larvae in seafood, leading to parasitic diseases and allergies. Anisakis is recognized by EFSA as a significant hazard, with potential oncogenic implications. Diagnostic advancements, like the Basophil Activation Test (BAT), enhance sensitivity and accuracy in identifying Anisakis sensitization, complementing traditional IgE tests. We conducted a cross-sectional study on patients with allergic symptoms from April 2021 to April 2023 at two outpatient clinics in western Sicily. Our goal was to assess the prevalence of Anisakis-related allergies and to identify risk profiles using specific Anisakis IgE and the BAT, especially in regions with high raw fish consumption. The study evaluated specific Anisakis IgE as a screening tool for Anisakis sensitization, using questionnaires, blood samples, and immuno-allergology analyses. Anisakis-specific IgE values were compared with the BAT results, with statistical analyses including Fisher’s exact test and logistic regression. The results showed an 18.5% seroprevalence of Anisakis IgE, while the BAT as a second-level test showed 4.63%, indicating the BAT’s superior specificity and accuracy. The study highlighted the importance of the BAT in diagnosing Anisakis sensitization, especially in cases of cross-reactivity with Ascaris and tropomyosin. The findings confirm the BAT’s exceptional specificity in identifying Anisakis sensitization and support using Anisakis-specific IgE for population-based risk profiling. The BAT can effectively serve as a confirmatory test.

28 March 2024 in Preprints.org
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Preprint
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CUCarina Gabriela Uasuf
Carina Gabriela Uasuf
CDClaudia D'Anna
Claudia D'Anna
Valeria BlandaValeria Blanda
Valeria Blanda
ESEnrico Scala
Enrico Scala
CSCaterina Di Sano
Caterina Di Sano
ATAlessandra Torina
Alessandra Torina
Mosquitoes are a family of the order Diptera, which includes more than 3500 species. Two groups able to suck human blood and transmit diseases: the anophelines and the culicines comprise several genera such as Culex, Aedes and Aedes communis (Ac). Previous study has demonstrated a significant relationship between Ac sensitization and either extract or single bee venom components suggesting a “bee-mosquito syndrome” occurrence. It is well known that CCD can interference with the measurement of quantitative IgE results. Hence, it has been hypnotized that the presence of sIgE to CCD could have a role in the Bee-Mosquito syndrome. Method Serum from 21 different Mosquito and Ape melifera allergic individuals were combined with extracts of Mosquito (in house) and Apis melifera. SDS-PAGE and Immunoblot (IB) were carried out without and with with CCD-Inhibitor. Results The data would suggest IgE binding to common bands between Culex male, Culex female and Aedes species mosquitos of approximate molecular weight ~21kDa, ~35kDa, ~40kDa and ~55kDa. Whilst IgE binding has been observed to protein bands from the Apis melifera extract, these bands do not align with any present in the mosquito extracts. The use of a CCD-Inhibitor results in differences in IgE binding. Specifically, bands that were previously observed in the Apis melifera venom sample without use of CCD-Inhibitor at 40kDa and 90kDa are no longer observed when CCD-Inhibitor is used. Two bands of the Apis melifera venom remain present between 15-20kDa. No major differences in banding pattern were observed for the mosquito samples with or without CCD-Inhibitor, although the blot appears cleaner with less background when CCD-Inhibitor is used. Conclusion Further experiments have to be done to determine whether the reactive bands from Apis melifera are unrelated proteins or whether the proteins are related homologues of varying molecular weight.