1/2. Fatal cytomegalovirus bronchiolitis in a patient with Nezelof's syndrome.A 4-year-old girl who had received a fetal thymus gland by intraperitoneal transplantation 41 months previously sustained acute, fatal bronchiolitis due to culture-proven cytomegalovirus despite the fact that a specific antibody response to this organism was detected. While the thymic transplantation had increased the number of circulating T lymphocytes and had permitted immune sensitization to delayed-hypersensitivity skin test antigens, there was still an incomplete state of T lymphocyte function. In particular, isolated lymphocytes failed to respond to stimulation with phytohemagglutinin at several concentrations and, more important, the pathologic examination demonstrated a severe anatomic deficiency of lymphoid tissue associated with T lymphocyte function. The unusual infection that caused the death of this child emphasized the necessity of acquiring sufficient T lymphocyte function in immunologic reconstitution attempts.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = antigen (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/2. Severe bronchiolitis probably caused by varicella-zoster virus.An unusual, severe pneumonia probably caused by varicella-zoster virus is reported in a 19-year-old previously healthy man. The diagnosis was based on high titer of varicella-zoster antibodies in serum, and demonstration of varicella-zoster antigen from lung biopsy specimen. The uncommon feature in the pathophysiological course of the disease was the selective hypercarbia that responded well to bronchodilator therapy with theophylline. Furthermore, the patient had no skin manifestations during his illness.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = antigen (Clic here for more details about this article) |