Biomedical subjects
Z Spirer
Publications and source records attributed to Z Spirer.
Normal reduction of nitroblue tetrazolium by neutrophils of splenectomized individuals.
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Vitamin D metabolites in amniotic fluid.
To provide further data on vitamin D metabolism in pregnancy, the concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD; n = 72), 24,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [24,25-(OH)2D; n = 70], and 1,25-(OH)2D (n = 59) were measured in amniotic fluid by competitive protein-binding radioassays. At term, the mean (+/- SE) concentrations of 25OHD and 24,25-(OH)2D in amniotic fluid (810 +/- 76 and 37.5 +/- 5.4 pg/ml, respectively) were significantly lower (P less than 0.01) than those at 16-18 weeks gestation (1707 +/- 2.67 and 149 +/- 3 pg/ml, respectively). Similarly, the concentrations of 25OHD in pooled amniotic fluid samples, as determined by high pressure liquid chromatography and UV absorbance detection at 254 nm, were 664 +/- 188 pg/ml at term and 1240 +/- 294 pg/ml at midgestation. In comparison, no difference could be found between the mean concentrations of 1,25-(OH)2D at term (4.3 +/- 0.8 pg/ml) and those at midgestation (3.3 +/- 0.4 pg/ml). However, in 14 of 39 amniotic fluid samples obtained at term (35.9%), the concentration of 24,25-(OH)2D was undetectable, while the level of 1,25-(OH)2D was increased. The reciprocal relationship between 24,25-(OH)2D and 1,25-(OH)2D found in more than a third of the amniotic fluid samples at term may be due to a regulatory mechanism responding to the increased fetal demand for calcium in the final stages of pregnancy.
The immune system in familial Mediterranean fever.
Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is a genetic disorder with an obscure aetiology. In attempts to investigate a possible immunoregulatory imbalance involved in this disease we tested 24 FMF patients for suppressor T cell activity and for chemotaxis of mononuclear cells. The suppressor T cell activity and chemotaxis were decreased in untreated FMF patients as compared to colchicine treated patients or normal controls. Amyloid FMF patients manifested significantly increased chemotactic activity, while the suppressor T cell activity was normal. This finding may extend our knowledge concerning the immune mechanism involved in FMF.
Gloves for lumbar puncture in children?
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Hepatoblastoma in an infant born to a mother after hormonal treatment for sterility.
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Lack of proliferation to alloantigen in a sibling of two infants with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID).
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Vitamin D metabolites in human milk.
The concentrations of unconjugated 25-OHD, 24, 25(OH)2D, and 1,25(OH)2D were measured in human milk by competitive protein-binding radioassays following successive preparative Sephadex LH-20 chromatography and HPLC. The mean (+/- SE) concentration of 25-OHD was 0.37 +/- 0.03 ng/ml, of 24,25(OH)2D was 24.8 +/- 1.9 pg/ml, and of 1,25(OH)2D was 2.2 +/-0.1 pg/ml. The concentration of 25-OHD3 in milk as determined by HPLC and UV detection at 254 nm was 0.27 +/- 0.08 ng/ml. The milk concentrations of vitamin D metabolites did not correlate with the maternal serum 25-OHD levels. The total amounts of unconjugated vitamin D metabolites correspond to the known low bioassayable vitamin D antirachitic activity in human milk.
Inhibition of the insulin response to glucose after treatment with cyproheptadine.
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Complete recovery from an apparent brain abscess treated without neurosurgery. The importance of early CT scanning.
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Suppressor T cell activity in splenectomized subjects.
The effect of splenectomy on the expression of suppressor activity of peripheral blood lymphocytes was examined in this study. 63 soldiers splenectomized for trauma or hematological diseases one to 24 years earlier, were studied by measuring the suppressor cell activity (using the Con A method), and lymphocyte blast transformation in response to lectines (PHA, Con A, PWM). There was a decrease in suppressor cell activity in 15 (23.8%) of the splenectomized patients. This decrease was greater in subjects splenectomized for trauma than in those splenectomized electively (24% and 22% respectively). The decrease was related to length to time from surgery being highest in the first 5 years after removal of the spleen and was more frequent in females (43%). The mean of the stimulation indices calculated from the mitogenic response to PHA, PWM and Con A was lower in the splenectomized patients with reduced suppressor activity than in those with normal suppressor activity. The findings of our present study supports the view that splenectomy interferes with normal immunoregulatory mechanisms and suggests that pyogenic infections are not the sole hazard of this procedure.
[Drugs excreted in milk--how do they effect the breast-fed infant?].
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[Pure red cell aplasia].
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Suppression of lymphocyte reactivity in vitro by a soluble factor secreted by explants of human decidua.
The immunologic mechanisms that protect the fetus from rejection were the subject of numerous investigations. Reports showing the uterus as a favorable site of implantation focused our attention to the decidua which is the maternal tissue intimately attached to fetal structures. Explants of human decidua were cultured for periods of 24 h and incubation media tested for their immunosuppressive activity. The incubation medium of human decidua when added to cultures of human lymphocytes suppressed both their reactivity to lectins and their activity in the mixed lymphocyte reaction. The results of these experiments suggest that decidual tissue releases a soluble factor which is a potent inhibitor of cell-mediated immunity.
Decreased 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol and increased 25-hydroxy- and 24,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol in tissues of rats treated with thyroxine.
The effect of thyroxine on the metabolism of vitamin D was investigated in rats. Vitamin D depleted rats were repleted by injections of radiolabelled cholecalciferol or 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25OHD3). After 3 weeks, a state of hyperthyroidism was induced by daily injections of L-thyroxine for 21 days. The lipid extracts of the Plasma and tissues were analyzed by successive Sephadex LH-20 and high pressure liquid chromatography. The concentrations of 25OHD3 and of 24,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol (24,25 (OH)2D3) were significantly higher and those of cholecalciferol and of 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol (1,25(OH)2D3) were significantly lower in the plasma and tissues of animals treated with thyroxine than in controls. The present study suggests that alterations in the metabolism of vitamin D may be involved in the disturbances of calcium metabolism observed in hyperthyroidism.
Postsplenectomy splenic activity.
Evidence of recurring activity of splenic tissue was investigated in patients who had undergone splenectomies. Methods included technetium 99m sulfur colloid scan, serum tuftsin assay, serum immunoglobulin concentration, blood cell counts, and search for Howell-Jolly bodies. Positive scans were observed together with normal levels of tuftsin in 54% of the patients. In 46% of the patients, no splenic activity was detected by scanning and low levels of tuftsin were noticed. The difference in tuftsin levels between the two groups was statistically significant. Howell-Jolly bodies and decreased serum levels of IgM featured all patients. The possible application of combined splenic scan and tuftsin assessment for screening recurring splenic activity in the postsplenectomy population at great risk is suggested.
Immunological functions in children years after recovery from protein calorie malnutrition (PCM) in their early infancy.
The immune functions were evaluated in 30 children, aged one year to 9 8/12 years, who had suffered during their early infancy from protein-calorie malnutrition (PCM) as the result of intractable diarrhea. Twelve healthy children matched for age and sex served as controls. All 42 children responded normally to intradermal injections of tuberculin and candida antigens. The reduction of nitrous blue tetrazolium (NBT) by the polymorphonuclear leucocytes (PMN) was normal. Apart from the lower concentrations of IgM in the post-PCM group--145 +/- 67 mg % as compared to 212.8 +/- 46 mg % (p less than 0.005)--no differences were noted in the other serum immunoglobulin and complement levels. The response to phytohaemagglutinins (PHA) in two different concentrations was significantly enhanced in the post-PCM group (p less than 0.05). The per cent of T cells in both groups was normal. The results of this study indicate that most immunologic parameters return to normal after a healthy nutritional status has been achieved, with the exception of some abnormalities in IgM production and lymphocyte reactivity to PHA. These need further investigation.