Bone marrow granulomas in mononucleosis.

Two patients with mononucleosis, one due to cytomegalovirus (CMV), and the other due to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), presenting with high fever, malaise and hepatitis, had granulomas in the bone marrow but not in the liver. In patients who have unexplained fever, bone marrow granulomas may be a clue to CMV or EBV infection and need not initially raise the fear of prognostically more severe illness.

Splenic immune deposits in bacterial endocarditis.

Splenic and renal tissues from a 61-year-old man with subacute bacterial endocarditis and acute renal failure were studied. Immune complex deposits were found both within glomeruli and splenic venous sinus basement membranes, substantiating the systemic nature of the immune injury in this disorder. The splenic deposits may, in part, be responsible for the splenomegaly often present in endocarditis.

Effect of 25-hydroxy-vitamin D3 on intestinal absorption of calcium in normal man and patients with renal failure.

The effects of short-term treatment with 25-hydroxy-vitamin D3 (25(OH)D3) on intestinal absorption of 47Ca were examined in 18 studies of normal subjects and 16 studies of patients with advanced renal failure. Doses of 25(OH)D3 were 20, 100, 500, or 1000 microgram/day given orally for 7--10 days. There was an increase in 47Ca absorption and urinary calcium in normal subjects receiving 20 microgram/day, while doses of 500 or 1000 microgram/day were required to augment 47Ca absorption in renal failure patients.