Cellular immunity factors in dysentery]

Cellular immune response was studied in 89 adult patients suffering from various clinical forms of acute dysentery, with the use of the lymphocyte blast-cell transformation reaction under the action of a specific antigen (dysenterin) and a nonspecific mitogen (phitohemagglutinin). Functional value of T-lymphocytes proved to be retained in patients with acute dysentery; there was also lymphocyte stimulation by a specific antigen in patients with moderately severe and severe forms of dysentery during the first week of the disease. Specificity of blast-cell transformation of sensitized lymphocytes under the action of dysenterin was shown. Patients with a high percentage of the lymphocyte blast forms displayed a more rapid positive progress of the main clinical indices at the height of the disease than analogous patients with a low blast percentage in the blood. The expediency of using the blast-cell transformation reaction for differential diagnosis and prognosis of moderately severe and severe forms of acute dysentery is discussed.     

The clinico-epidemiological characteristics of the course and diagnosis of tick-borne rickettsiosis in northern Asia

The study of tick-borne rickettsiosis in Northern Asia has made it possible to determine the clinico-epidemiological features of the modern course of this disease, which should be taken into consideration for the timely diagnosis of this infection. The laboratory verification of the diagnosis should be carried out, as recommended by the authors, in the agar precipitation and leukocytosis tests in their modification.     

The dynamics of the basic factors of nonspecific resistance in North Asian tick-borne typhus]

At the acute period of tick-borne typhus an increase in the activities of the main nonspecific resistance factors of the body, and particularly lysozyme, betalysins, complement and properdin, is observed. During convalescence the concentration of lysozyme normalizes and the content of betalysins remains sufficiently high, this indicating that, even in the absence of clinical sings of the disease, the disturbances in homeostasis persist. A decrease in the levels of complement and properdin during convalescence is seemingly linked with their consumption for the formation of immune complexes, eliminated from the body.     

Cellular immunity factors in salmonellosis and food toxinfections

A complex immunological examination of 68 salmonellosis patients and 227 patients with alimentary toxinfections of unknown etiology has been made in the process of their treatment by rehydration therapy. At the acute period of the disease, irrespective of its nosologic form, cellular immunity has been suppressed. Cell-mediated immunity factors have been shown to depend on the severity of the disease.     

Cellular immunity in patients with multiple primary tumors

Summary Immunological studies for evaluation of cellular immunity were carried out on 22 patients who had two primary malignant tumors and who had no evidence of active disease. The tests performed were for skin reactivity to 3 recall antigens, PPD, Candidine, and Streptokinase and in vitro lymphocyte stimulation by PHA. Of these, 6 patients were anergic to all three recall antigens and 5 other patients to two out of three antigens. A depression of the in vitro reactivity was encountered in 11 patients. The immune incompetence was more evident in patients with simultaneous tumors than in those with metachroneous tumors. The longer the interval between the appearance of the primary and the secondary tumors, the less immunosuppression was seen.Presented at the 24th Israel Medical Association Conference on Immunological Aspects of Cancer, Tel-Aviv, December 26, 1974This work was supported in part by the Office of the Administrator General, Ministry of Justice and the Medical Research Fund under the Sponsorship of the Ministry of Health     

Cellular and humoral immunity and nonspecific resistance factors in chronic opisthorchiasis patients during dispensary observation

In 116 patients with opisthorchiasis running a cholecystocholangitic variant of the disease course, the characteristics of nonspecific resistance (complement, lysozyme, properdin), cell-mediated and humoral immunity (T- and B-lymphocytes, T gamma-, T mu-, O-, D-, A-cells and auto-rosette-forming cells, IgG, IgA and IgM) have been studied. Essential changes in these characteristics before and after treatment, as well as at the remote periods of dispensary observation, have been established.     

Cellular and humoral immunity factors in salmonellosis and food toxinfections

The present work deals with the state of cell-mediated and humoral immunity in 129 patients with salmonellosis and 185 patients with alimentary toxicoinfections, determined from the data obtained in the leukocyte migration inhibition (LMI) test and the passive hemagglutination (PHA) test with cysteine, at different stages of the disease and depending on the severity of the infectious process. The results of these investigations showed that in adult salmonellosis patients the specific reaction of T- and B-lymphocytes developed as secondary immune response. The results of the LMI test proved to be unrelated to the severity of the infectious process, while antibody formation was found to be most intensive in the acute course of the disease. The investigations also revealed that the activity of reaction in the LMI est did not depend on the presence of humoral antibodies. In the patients with alimentary toxicoinfections changes in the results of the LMI test and the PHA test with cysteine showed the same regularities as in the salmonellosis patients. This permitted the authors to suggest that diseases of Salmonella etiology prevailed in the former group.     

Cellular and humoral immunity factors as regulators of regenerative morphogenesis

The published and author's data concerning changes in the immune system during regeneration of various organs are summarized. During the first few hours after partial removal of organs possessing high regeneration capacity, lymphocytes stimulate proliferation of nonlymphoid cells of an organ identical to the operated one; the production of antibodies against thymus-dependent antigen also increases. At the following stages of regeneration, the lymphocytes suppress the cell proliferation and decrease the antigen production. The level of these changes correlates with the level of post operational deficiency of the organ being maximal after total removal of the organ. The functional properties of splenocytes at different stages of regeneration suggest that the high T-helper and T-suppressor activities correlate with stimulation and suppression of non-lymphoid cells proliferation respectively. Culture medium supernatant after cultivation of these lymphocytes also changes the proliferation of hepatocytes. The author considers the impairment of natural immune tolerance caused by deficiency of organ auto-antigens that normally suppress lymphocyte proliferation to be the cause of the changes in lymphocyte activity.     

Cellular immunity in patients with malignant melanoma and their household contacts

Summary Immune reactivity was measured in control subjects and in 86 patients with malignant melanoma using four tests of cellular immunity. In addition, cellular immune reactivity to melanoma extract was studied in 13 household contacts of patients with melanoma. Thirty percent (4/13) of the household contacts showed reactivity to melanoma extract as determined by lymphocyte stimulation as compared to 20% of patients and 5% of controls. Seventy-two percent (8/11) household contacts showed reactivity as measured by the indirect MIF test, compared to 38% of patients and 23% of normal controls. As determined by the leukocyte migration inhibition test, 71% (5/7) of household contacts showed reactivity to melanoma extract versus 20% of patients and 22% of controls. The number of household contacts studied was low; however, it was observed that these subjects showed responses to melanoma extract with considerably greater frequency than did normal control subjects, and the frequency of positive responses in patients with melanoma was intermediate between that of the household contacts and the normal controls.This work was supported in part by grants AI-10495, AI CA-10686, and CA 13671 from the U.S. Public Health Service. Dr. Spitler is supported by a National Institutes of Health Career Development Award (AI-43012).     

Clinical characteristics and risk factors for severe scrub typhus in pediatric and elderly patients

BackgroundScrub typhus (ST) is a life-threatening infectious disease if appropriate treatment is unavailable. Large discrepancy of clinical severity of ST patients was reported among age groups, and the underlying risk factors for severe disease are unclear.MethodsClinical and epidemiological data of ST patients were collected in 55 surveillance hospitals located in Guangzhou City, China, from 2012 to 2018. Severe prognosis and related factors were determined and compared between pediatric and elderly patients.ResultsA total of 2,074 ST patients including 209 pediatric patients and 1,865 elderly patients were included, with a comparable disease severity rate of 11.0% (95% CI 7.1%–16.1%) and 10.3% (95% CI 9.0%–11.8%). Different frequencies of clinical characteristics including lymphadenopathy, skin rash, enlarged tonsils, etc. were observed between pediatric and elderly patients. Presence of peripheral edema and decreased hemoglobin were the most important predictors of severe illness in pediatric patients with adjusted ORs by 38.99 (9.96–152.67, p<0.001) and 13.22 (1.54–113.50, p = 0.019), respectively, while presence of dyspnea and increased total bilirubin were the potential determinants of severe disease in elderly patients with adjusted ORs by 11.69 (7.33–18.64, p<0.001) and 3.17 (1.97–5.11, p<0.001), respectively. Compared with pediatric patients, elderly patients were more likely to receive doxycycline (64.8% v.s 9.9%, p<0.001), while less likely to receive azithromycin therapy (5.0% v.s 41.1%, p<0.001).ConclusionThe disease severity rate is comparable between pediatric and elderly ST patients, while different clinical features and laboratory indicators were associated with development of severe complications for pediatric and elderly patients, which is helpful for diagnosis and progress assessment of disease for ST patients.     

Development of early human culture in northern Asia

An archeological complex in the Pleistocene deposits of the Altai Mountains currently provides the most complete information about early human occupation in northern and Central Asia. It is best represented in studies of multilayered Paleolithic sites in the Anui River valley in the northwestern part of the Altai Mountains. The general stratigraphic profile, which includes Middle and Upper Pleistocene deposits, has been defined based on the data obtained from a number of sites in this region. Available information reflects the development of early human culture and environmental fluctuations from the early to the late stages of the Paleolithic.