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Biomedical subjects

R A DeRemee

Publications and source records attributed to R A DeRemee.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1980

Serum angiotensin-converting enzyme activity in evaluating the clinical course of sarcoidosis.

Thirty-five patients with sarcoidosis were serially monitored for serum angiotensin-converting enzyme activity by a simple radiochemical assay, and we analyzed the relation of such activity to the clinical status as judged from changes in chest roentgenograms, pulmonary function, or symptoms. Converting enzyme levels closely paralleled and occasionally antedated changes in clinical status in patients either undergoing spontaneous remission or being treated with prednisone. Converting enzyme activity seems to be a sensitive index for evaluating the clinical course of sarcoidosis. Converting enzyme determinations may be helpful in corroborating the diagnosis, assessing the likelihood of spontaneous remission, confirming the clinical status of the patient, and determining the adequacy of glucocorticoid therapy.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Respiratory vasculitis.

Respiratory vasculitis is characterized by granulomatous changes pathologically. Both upper and lower respiratory tracts may be involved. It is convenient to separate three entities: (1) Wegener's granulomatosis, (2) allergic granulomatosis and angiitis, or Churg-Strauss syndrome, and (3) polymorphic reticulosis/lymphomatoid granulomatosis complex. Churg-Strauss syndrome responds well to glucocorticoids. Cytotoxic drugs appear necessary for ultimate control of Wegener's granulomatosis. Radiation therapy is effective in controlling polymorphic reticulosis/lymphomatoid granulomatosis when it is localized to one site. Evidence suggests that polymorphic reticulosis/lymphomatoid granulomatosis may be closely related to lymphoproliferative disorders.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

HLA-A antigens of patients with Wegener's granulomatosis.

The frequency of HL-A antigens was determined in 31 patients with biopsy-confirmed Wegener's granulomatosis and compared with their frequency in healthy Caucasian control population. There was no significant difference between the two groups for any of the 24 HL-A antigens tested.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Polymorphic reticulosis, lymphomatoid granulomatosis. Two diseases or one?

Clinical and pathologic data on 40 patients (31 men, 9 women) with polymorphic reticulosis are presented. The disease may involve the upper respiratory tract, notably the nose, paranasal sinuses, nasopharynx, or palate, as well as the lung, skin, gastrointestinal tract, and central nervous system. Polymorphic reticulosis is identical pathologically to lymphomatoid granulomatosis. Localized disease, particularly that in the upper airway, responds well to radiation therapy. Corticosteroids and cytotoxic agents appear to be ineffective with multisite involvement.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

Prevalence of fungal complement-fixing antibodies in sarcoidosis.

The prevalence of fungal complement-fixing antibodies in sera from 58 patients with sarcoidosis was determined and compared to complement-fixing antibody titers in 50 sera from a normal control group and 50 antinuclear antibody-positive sera. Sera from 9 patients with sarcoidosis had complement-fixing antibody titers greater than 1:8 to Histoplasma yeast antigen; serum from one normal control subject had a titer greater than 1:8; and none of the antinuclear antibody-positive sera demonstrated titers greater than 1:8. There were no significant complement-fixing antibody concentrations observed against histoplasmin, blastomycin, and coccidioidin antigens in any serum from the 3 groups studied. The increase in antibody titers to the Histoplasma yeast antigen might have been related to the generalized increase in immunoglobulin concentrations noted in patients with sarcoidosis.

Antibodies, Fungal↗
PubMed1977

Pulmonary and extrapulmonary sarcoidosis in relation to circulating immune complexes: a quantification of immune complexes by two radioimmunoassays.

Serum specimens from 53 patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis were examined for the presence of immune complexes by 2 methods, the Raji cell and the monoclonal rheumatoid factor radioimmunoassays. We found increased concentrations of immune complexes in the sera of 27 patients by one or both techniques. A significant association was found between increased concentrations of immune complexes and stage III sarcoidosis. Seventeen of 23 patients with stage III sarcoidosis and 10 of 50 with stage I or II disease had increased concentrations of immune complexes. Eight of the 10 patients with stage I or II sarcoidosis and increased concentrations of immune complexes had extrapulmonary sarcoid features, such as erythema nodosum, synovitis, or salivary gland enlargements. The size of the immune complex was 15S in one of the patients examined. Concentrations of C4 were normal. The data suggest a possible role of immune complexes in the pathogenesis of pulmonary and extrapulmonary features of sarcoidosis.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Allergic granulomatosis and angiitis (Churg-Strauss syndrome). Report and analysis of 30 cases.

The clinical and morphologic findings of allergic granulomatosis and angiitis of Churg and Strauss in 21 men and 9 women were reviewed. The classic features are those of systemic vasculitis in a setting of bronchial asthma and eosinophilia. Pathologically there is necrotizing vasculitis of small arteries and veins with extravascular granulomas, and infiltration of vessels and perivascular tissues with eosinophilia. These features differentiate it from poly-arteritis nodosa. The lungs, peripheral nerves, and skin are most frequently involved. Renal failure was encountered in only one patient in this series. Shortness of the interval from onset of asthma to appearance of vasculitis is an unfavorable prognostic sign. Corticosteroids seem to influence long-term survival favorably.

Adolescent↗