Vitamin A supplementation for refugees and famine victims.

Reports about recent famine victims and refugees have described the occurrence of xerophthalmia and resultant blindness related to severe vitamin A deficiency. These populations are subject to high prevalences of childhood protein-energy malnutrition and infectious diseases, pre-existing marginal vitamin A status, and inadequate levels of vitamin A in relief rations. In order to prevent unnecessary morbidity and mortality when any of these risk factors arise, famine victims or refugees should receive vitamin A supplements as an early and essential component of the nutritional support provided by relief agencies.

Unusual acute neurologic presentations with Epstein-Barr virus infection.

We describe two patients with serologic evidence of active Epstein-Barr virus infection who presented with unusual neurologic manifestations and minimal systemic findings of infectious mononucleosis. One girl developed an acute hemiplegic migraine syndrome followed by acute psychosis, and the other patient had severe, generalized chorea. The wide spectrum of presenting central nervous system findings associated with Epstein-Barr virus infections underscores the need to suspect this agent in a variety of acute neurologic syndromes.