Munchausen syndrome by proxy with massive proteinuria and gastrointestinal hemorrhage.

A 5-year-old boy presented with acute abdominal pain. Massive proteinuria of 10 g/1.73 m(2) per day was detected on standard urinalysis.

[Immunonephelometric analysis of immunoglobulin light chains: agreement between the theoretical and experimental model. Assessment of the reference values of the kappa/lambda ratio and the heavy to light chain ratio].

Since the introduction of fully automated nephelometric systems simultaneous measurements of immunoglobulin light chains kappa (kappa) and lambda (lambda) and IgG, IgA and IgM have become increasingly used for the routine assessment of humoral immunity. From these data two ratios were calculated, the kappa/lambda ratio and the heavy chains to light chains ratio. As changes in these ratios might have some predictive clinical value besides reflecting a monoclonal component, it is necessary to know mean and reference limits of these ratios.

[Value of immunofixation for the typing of serum and urine monoclonal proteins].

Typing of monoclonal proteins can be performed, after screening by cellulose acetate electrophoresis, by immunoelectrophoresis (IEP) or immunofixation (IF). For sera, IF must be preferred to IEP because this methods is more sensitive and more easy to interpretate, particularly for small monoclonal components and biclonal abnormalities. For urine, patterns obtained by IF must be interpretated cautionaly because of the frequent polycondensed aspect of the non monoclonal light chains from tubular renal failures, and must be verified by a polyacrylamide agarose electrophoresis.

[High resolution electrophoresis of urinary proteins from unconcentrated samples with silver staining].

We have evaluated an electrophoretic technique on agarose gel with silver staining on one hundred pathological urine samples. This method allows to study low proteinuria and to characterize glomerular, tubular electrophoretic patterns and also to detect monoclonal immunoglobulin light chains.

Effects of tiaprofenic acid on interleukin 1, phospholipase A2 activity, prostaglandins, neutral protease, and collagenase activity in rheumatoid synovial fluid.

IL-1 and prostaglandin (PGE2, PGF2 alpha, TXB2) concentrations, PLA2 activity, neutral protease activity, and collagenase activity specific for types I and II collagen were determined in the SF of patients suffering from RA, before and after treatment with TA. Active and latent forms of protease and collagenases were regularly detected but were unrelated to IL-1, PLA2, and PGE2. TA induced a significant decrease in tested eicosanoids but IL-1, PLA2, and proteases were unchanged.