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Biomedical subjects

S Thunold

Publications and source records attributed to S Thunold.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Lymphocyte subpopulations in thymus and blood from patients with myasthenia gravis.

Cell suspensions were prepared from hyperplastic thymic tissue and lymphoepithelioma from patients with myasthenia gravis and from presumed normal thymic tissue obtained at cardiac surgery. The mononuclear cells were examined for surface markers. The mean percentages of both T lymphocytes and Fc receptor-carrying lymphocytes were similar in the three groups, whereas there was an increase in C receptor-carrying lymphocytes in the samples from myasthenic patients. Sections from the thymus gland were examined for T and B markers. In the hyperplastic thymus and in lymphoepithelioma, the T lymphocytes were distributed diffusely throughout the cortex and the medulla; in the normal thymus they were predominant in the cortex. The mean percentage of T and B lymphocytes in peripheral blood from patients with myasthenia gravis was normal. Thymectomy involved a transitory decrease in T lymphocytes with a corresponding increase in B lymphocytes.

B-Lymphocytes↗

Oral lesions of epidermolysis bullosa acquisita.

Oral lesions with histologic evidence of subepidermal bullae are described in a patient with epidermolysis bullosa acquisita (EBA). Deposition of IgA, IgG, and C3 in the basement membrane zone and vasculitis with C3 deposits in vessel walls suggest the possible role of immune complexes in the pathogenesis of the disease.

Adult↗

Complement receptors in pathological human renal glomeruli.

Glomerular complement receptors (GCR) were demonstrated by the adsorption of C3 coated sheep erythrocytes to cryostat sections of human kidneys. An epithelial localization of the GCR is implied by the binding pattern of the indicator cells. The GCR activity was reduced in all glomeruli where in vivo deposition of immunoglobulin and C3 along the capillary wall was observed. In fourteen out of nineteen biopsies where deposits in the mesangium were seen, reduced GCR activity was also observed, whereas GCR activity was normal in the other five. Immunofluorescence and haemadsorption tests performed on the same section showed that C3 deposits corresponded to areas showing reduced complement receptor activity. Areas outside the C3 deposits adsorbed indicator cells coated with various amounts of C3 similarly to the adsorption to glomeruli seen in normal adult and fetal kidneys. Sclerotic glomeruli showed no GCR activity. The results indicate that the complement receptors play a role for the binding of complement-containing complexes in glomeruli.

Binding Sites, Antibody↗

Thyroiditis in myasthenia gravis.

Three out of 40 patients with myasthenia gravis had chronic thyroiditis. The thyroid disease preceded the neuromuscular disorder in two patients, while the third developed a slowly progessive hypothyreosis during the course of the myasthenia. One patient had an initial thyrotoxicosis with subsequent development of hypothyreosis. Of the remaining 37 patients, two had enlarged thyroid glands, positive family history of thyroid disease and antibodies to thyroid globulin, but were euthyreot.

Adult↗

Epidermolysis bullosa acquisita and Crohn's disease.

A patient with epidermolysis bullosa acquisita (EBA) associated with Crohn's disease is presented. The clinical, histological and immunological findings were in keeping with previous reports. However, clinically normal skin and mucosa exhibited deposits of IgG and C3 in the basement-membrane zone. These deposits remained unchanged during the treatment period. It is therefore suggested that immunological mechanisms are implicated in pathogenesis of the disease.

Adult↗

Properties of Fcgamma receptors in normal and malignant human tissues.

Properties of the IgG receptors were studied by treating tissue sections or suspensions of peripheral mononuclear cells with various chemical reagents and determining changes in their ability to react with IgG-sensitized erythrocytes (EA). A heterogeneity of the Fc receptors was revealed. Iodoacetamide, 2-mercaptoethanol, sodium azide, EDTA, and a pH varying from 6.0 to 8.2 had no effect on Fc receptors in sections of normal lymphoreticular tissue and malignant tissue. Formaldehyde, low pH, and high salt concentrations affected receptor activity to various degrees. Receptors in liver sections and on monocytes were generally more resistant than receptors in spleen sections and on B lymphocytes. Receptors in malignant tissue behaved either like receptors in spleen or like receptors in liver. Although all tissues were sensitive to periodic acid, the Fc receptors in malignant tissue were always more resistant.

Azides↗

Fetal thymus transplantations in severe combined immunodeficiency.

Two brothers with severe combined immunodeficiency were treated with repeated transplantations of fetal thymus tissue. The first patient was not treated until he was critically ill, and the intramuscular transplants had no effect. He died at 11 months of age of overwhelming pneumonia. At postmortem examination a transplanted thymus seemed viable. In the second patient an intramuscular transplant had no effect, but three subsequent intraperitoneal transplants led to transient increase in circulating T lymphocytes with a concomitant fall in B lymphocytes. The results suggested an additive effect of each transplant. However, delayed hypersensitivity skin tests and in vitro mitogen responses were not influenced. Initially, transfer factor was given, and fetal liver was administered intraperitoneally together with the last thymic transplant. Neither of these measures had any observed effect, and this patient, similarly, died of pneumonia at nearly 12 months of age.

B-Lymphocytes↗

Acute disseminated phycomycosis in a patient with impaired neutrophil granulocyte function.

A 13-year-old girl with no previously known predisposing disease developed phycomycosis involving the left lung, pleura and shoulder, the left side of the neck, the left thigh, the kidneys and the brain. Prolonged amphotericin B therapy resulted in clinical improvement, but the disease was wide-spread when the patient died 5 months after debut of symptoms from a subarachnoid haemorrhage due to fungal destruction of the basilar artery. During hospitalization, a marked reduction in the bactericidal activity of circulating neutrophil granulocytes was repeatedly demonstrated and the endotoxin stimulated nitroblu tetrazolium test was negative. Together with the demonstration of granuloma formation and the accumulation of lipid-laden histiocytes in the spleen, lymph nodes, bone marrow and the thymus, these findings indicate that the patient had a less severe form of chronic granulomatous disease.

Adolescent↗

Retroperitoneal fibrosis during treatment with methydopa.

Retroperitoneeal fibrosis (R.P.F.) and a positive direct Coombs test developed in a patient who had received 1.4 kg. of alpha-methyldopa over a period of 5 years. Immunofluorescence microscopy demonstrated deposits of IgG, IgM, and IgA on the collagen fibres of the R.P.F. Biopsy speciments of the temporal artery, the right kidney, and the R.P.F. did not show signs of general arterial disease on light, immunofluorescence, and electron microscopy. Drugs which provoke autoimmunisation and interfere with nervous transmission are known to induce deposition of collagen or R.P.F. This suggests that R.P.F. in this patient was probably caused by alpha-methydopa.

Biopsy↗

Arthritis in myasthenia gravis.

Seven patients with myasthenia gravis developed clinical signs of arthropathy. In two patients, the symptoms were due to a deforming rheumatoid arthritis and the myasthenic symptoms appeared as a transitory phase during the course of the disease. Muscle antibodies of IgG class were demonstrated with sera from both patients. Autoreactivity between muscle antibodies and rheumatoid factor was detected in one patient. Both patients died from sudden cardiac failure. Necropsy was performed in one and revealed a spotty myocardial necrosis. One patient had juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Two patients had mild articular symptoms with indices of multivisceral disease and serological findings indicating a systemic lupus erythematous. One patient had classical ankylosing spondylitis, and one, unspecified arthropathy.

Adolescent↗