Anthracycline-induced cardiomyopathy in children: a report of six cases.

Although anthracycline antibiotics are among the most useful chemotherapy agents, the risk of producing cardiomyopathy and the absence of a reliable noninvasive technique to predict subclinical cardiomyopathy remain a major problem. We retrospectively reviewed our experience with anthracyclines over a 5-year period. Cardiomyopathy developed in 6 of 112 patients (5.

Hereditary pyropoikilocytosis and elliptocytosis: clinical, laboratory, and ultrastructural features in infants and children.

Clinical, biochemical and ultrastructural assessment of five Black children from four unrelated kindreds, who had morphologic and laboratory features of hereditary pyropoikilocytosis (HP) is described. In two of the unrelated propositi, both with relatives having elliptocytosis, the apparent HP gradually evolved into elliptocytosis. The mode of inheritance appeared to be autosomal dominant in one family and autosomal recessive in the other.

Phagocytosis of neutrophils by marrow macrophages in childhood chronic benign neutropenia.

Chronic benign neutropenia of childhood is a heterogeneous disorder. This study describes two severely neutropenic children with a benign clinical course and the unique bone marrow finding of macrophage engulfment of band and segmented neutrophils. Phagocytic vacuoles in the majority of macrophages contained neutrophils in various stages of digestion at both the light and electron microscope level (with as many as four neutrophils observed in single macrophages).

The cytosine arabinoside (Ara-C) syndrome.

Four patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and two with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ages 4 and 4 months to 16 years 6 months) exhibited a unique reaction to intravenously administered cytosine arabinoside (Ara-C) given alone as a part of the previously reported LSA2-L2 treatment protocol. The syndrome was characterized by fever, myalgia, bone pain, and occasionally by chest pain, maculopapular rash, and conjunctivitis. Each of the eleven episodes of this syndrome occurred within 6-12 hours of drug infusion and always abated after cessation of Ara-C.

Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome: cellular impairments and their implication for carrier detection.

A family in which two male siblings were affected with Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS) was studied using G-6-PD isoenzymes as an X-linked marker in order to investigate the nature of cellular abnormalities. Isolated peripheral blood cell types from the doubly heterozygous mother of the affected males seemingly failed to express the G-6-PD allele in cis position with the WAS allele while her cultured skin fibroblasts expressed both G-6-PD alleles. Additionally, a histogram analysis of platelet size revealed a single population of abnormally small platelets in the affected propositus, whereas the heterozygous mother had no appreciable small platelet subpopulation.

Congenital dysgranulopoietic neutropenia: clinical, serologic, ultrastructural, and in vitro proliferative characteristics.

Six children with severe congenital neutropenia and repeated life-threatening infections were investigated by examining clinical features and myeloid cell ultrastructure, cytochemistry, and in vitro proliferation. Despite the presence of neutropenia, normal numbers of colony-forming cells (CFC) were present in blood and marrow specimens, and colony-stimulating activities (CSA) from blood cells and serum were normal or slightly increased in all patients. In vitro maturation of the progenitors to neutrophils was also uniformly present in the colonies.

Dysgranulopoietic neutropenia and abnormal monocytes in childhood vitamin B12 deficiency.

Neutropenia and/or leukopenia (associated with elevated serum lysozyme levels) in three children with vitamin B12 deficiency were evaluated using soft agar culture and ultrastructural and cytochemical techniques. In two patients a marked increase in peripheral myeloid colony forming cells (CFC) was observed; whereas a marginal increase in CFC was present in the third, less symptomatic, patient. Marrow CFC was normal or slightly increased.

Management of localized thoracic neuroblastoma.

Thirteen children with localized (Evans stage I or II) thoracic primary neuroblastoma were divided into two groups according to the type of therapy administered, in order to compare the therapeutic efficacy and morbidity of excisional surgery followed by either irradiation alone or irradiation plus chemotherapy (group A) with similar surgery alone (group B). Group A consisted of 6 children (mean age 1 year, 2 months). Complete surgical excision was accomplished in 2 patients, while 4 had microscopic residual.

Giant platelet granules in a child with the Chediak-Higashi syndrome.

Previous ultrastructural investigation have not identified abnormal lysosomes in platelets obtained from humans or animals with the Chediak-Higashi Syndrome. We report here a patient whose megakaryocytes and platelets were found to contain giant granules when viewed by light and electron microscopy. The granules measured up to 1.