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Biomedical subjects

E Silverman

Publications and source records attributed to E Silverman.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Exocrine pancreatic function in children with systemic lupus erythematosus.

We examined the incidence and spectrum of pancreatic disease in pediatric systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We measured serum immunoreactive cationic trypsinogen (IRT) in 185 samples obtained from 35 patients with SLE. Fifteen patients (43%) had elevated IRT levels on at least one occasion. Serum samples were obtained in 20 of 35 patients before start of treatment. Seven of these 20 patients (35%) had elevated IRT levels at diagnosis, which slowly returned to normal as their disease was controlled with treatment. A further 3 of these 20 patients in whom we had sera at diagnosis had elevated levels at some course during their illness. Of the remaining 15 patients in whom sera was not available at diagnosis, 5 patients had increased IRT levels on at least one occasion. We show that elevated IRT levels are common in pediatric SLE, but there was no apparent association with drugs such as prednisone and azathioprine. However, high levels of IRT at the time of diagnosis may be related to an underlying disease component such as vasculitis.

Adolescent

Decreased protein binding of salicylates in Kawasaki disease.

Because patients with Kawasaki disease have low serum concentrations of salicylates despite high doses, and because the free (unbound) drug is responsible for the pharmacologic effects of salicylates, we assessed salicylate protein binding in patients with Kawasaki disease. During the acute phase of the disease, protein binding of salicylate in 36 children with Kawasaki disease was 73 +/- 12%, significantly lower than during the subacute phase (90.4 +/- 8.7%; p less than 0.0005). Mean serum albumin concentration was 29.2 +/- 6.4 gm/L during the acute phase and 36.7 +/- 7.8 gm/L during the subsequent subacute phase (p less than 0.005). Salicylate protein binding was affected independently by both serum albumin and total salicylate levels. During the acute phase of Kawasaki disease, children had an average twofold increase in free salicylate compared with normoalbuminemic control subjects. A nomogram has been devised to derive free salicylate levels from the known total salicylate and serum albumin concentrations.

Acute Disease

Bowel perforation and interstitial cystitis in childhood systemic lupus erythematosus.

A 13-year-old girl presented with abdominal pain, fever, dysuria, incontinence and pyuria and was subsequently diagnosed as having systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with extensive gastrointestinal involvement and an associated interstitial cystitis. Despite aggressive therapy with high dose prednisone and cyclophosphamide she developed a small bowel perforation and subsequently died. The combination of bowel symptoms and interstitial cystitis seems unique to the population with SLE, while the separate complication of bowel perforation carries an extremely poor prognosis in this group of patients.

Adolescent

Importance of the immune response to the Ro/La particle in the development of congenital heart block and neonatal lupus erythematosus.

Previous studies have suggested a role for anti-Ro antibodies in the pathogenesis of neonatal lupus erythematosus (NLE). We reexamined the role of the immune response to the Ro/La particle in the development of NLE using newer and more definitive assay techniques. All 15 infants with congenital heart block and NLE had both anti-Ro and anti-La antibodies. Of 8 patients with cutaneous NLE alone, 2 had anti-Ro antibodies alone while the remaining 6 had both anti-Ro and anti-La antibodies. One woman gave birth to 2 children; one had both Ro and La antibodies and developed congenital heart block, the other had only anti-Ro and anti-U1RNP antibodies and was clinically normal. Our study demonstrates that the presence of anti-Ro and anti-La antibodies define the immune response that is associated with the development of congenital heart block of NLE.

Antibodies, Antinuclear

Maternal antibodies to Ro (SS-A) are associated with both early onset of disease and male sex among children with systemic lupus erythematosus.

In this study of 71 children with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and 188 of their first-degree relatives, we demonstrated that the development of SLE in male children younger than age 18, and in all children younger than age 10 at the time of diagnosis, is strongly correlated with the presence of antibodies to Ro (SS-A) in the mother's serum. When the relative antibody concentration was quantified, increased quantities of antibody to Ro (SS-A) were also found in mothers of male probands and mothers of probands whose SLE was diagnosed before age 10. No similar association was found for the presence or amount of antibody to Ro (SS-A) in other first-degree relatives or for antibody to La (SS-B) or nuclear RNP in any relative. The explanation for the association of maternal anti-Ro (SS-A) antibodies and early diagnosis of SLE or male sex is not apparent. These findings extend the association of maternal antibodies to Ro (SS-A) from transient "neonatal" SLE to SLE in childhood, and suggest that maternal antibodies to Ro (SS-A) may be of fundamental importance in the pathogenesis of some cases of childhood SLE.

Adolescent

Antibodies to histones H1 and H5 in sera of patients with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.

The specificity of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) sera for histone subclasses was examined by immunoblotting. Antibodies to H1 alone were found in 4 of 21 pauciarticular-onset JRA sera, 4 of 19 polyarticular-onset JRA sera, and 2 of 11 systemic-onset JRA sera. Antibodies to H5 alone were found in 1 of 21 pauciarticular JRA sera, 1 of 19 polyarticular JRA sera, and 3 of 11 systemic JRA sera. Antibodies to both H1 and H5 were found in 4 of 21 pauciarticular JRA sera, 4 of 19 polyarticular JRA sera, and 1 of 11 systemic JRA sera. Antibodies to the core histones (H2A and H2B) were found in 1 of 21 pauciarticular JRA sera, 1 of 19 polyarticular JRA sera, and no systemic JRA sera. No reactivity to histones was observed in 30 sera from age-matched children with nonrheumatic diseases. The presence of H1 and H5 antibodies did not correlate with antinuclear antibody titers or with a homogeneous pattern of immunofluorescence. The predominance of H1 and H5 antibodies and relative absence of antibodies binding to core histones in JRA contrast with findings in adult systemic lupus erythematosus. Further, the presence of antibodies to H5 alone in some of the JRA patients indicates that the immune response in these patients is directed to determinants that are not shared by sequences of mammalian proteins.

Adolescent

Determinants of low serum concentrations of salicylates in patients with Kawasaki disease.

The mechanisms leading to the previously reported difficulties in achieving therapeutic serum concentrations of salicylates in Kawasaki disease were studied in eight children, once during the acute (febrile) phase and again during the nonfebrile (subacute) phase of the disease. Salicylate bioavailability was impaired during the acute phase of the disease (47.7% +/- 6.6%), and increased significantly thereafter to 75.1% +/- 9.3%. During the febrile phase there was a significant correlation between salicylate bioavailability and steady-state serum concentrations. Salicylate renal clearance was significantly higher during the febrile phase (14.45 +/- 2.5 mL/kg.h), compared with the nonfebrile phase (7 +/- 1.6 mL/kg.h, P less than 0.05). The change in salicylate clearance could be explained by decreased protein binding in the acute phase (82.5% +/- 1.9%) with substantially more free salicylates caused by significantly lower serum albumin concentrations. Changes in urine metabolites during the acute and subacute phases were consistent with the changes in dose administered (100 mg/kg in the acute phase vs 10 mg/kg in the subacute phase). The pattern of metabolites excreted in the urine of children with Kawasaki disease receiving 100 mg/kg was similar to that in children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis receiving the same dose.

Arthritis, Juvenile