Feasibility of peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) and peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMNC) separation in children with a body weight below 20 KG.

Nine children from 10 to 76 months (median 28.0), weighing 8.5 to 19.

[Computer-assisted evaluation of a "medium resolution" HLA-DRB oligotyping of bone marrow donors].

One drawback of a 'medium resolution' generic dotblot oligonucleotide typing of the HLA-DRB locus has been the time consuming evaluation of the collected SSO-hybridisation datas. We developed a program on the basis of MS-ACCESS, written in visual basic, called HIDE (HLA Intelligent Data Evaluation) to manage this problem. HIDE offers a complete data management for the donor and the incoming sample, supports a membrane based data entry of the hybridisation-reactions and multiple testing of a sample.

Immunological and clinical response to immunosuppressive treatment in paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration.

Objective: To report the clinical and immunological response to immunosuppressive treatment with cyclophosphamide in two patients with paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration.

Design: Case reports. Clinical and immunological follow-up data available for 4 1/2 years in the first patient and for 2 years in the second patient.

[HLA class II typing of dialysis patients--a comparison of serologic and molecular biological typing procedures].

The typing results of 212 dialysis patients could be improved by 13%, using polymerase chain reaction and hybridization with SSOs for defining HLA DR B polymorphism. So far 19 organ donors were also typed using a more rapid method: PCR with SSP.

Geographical distribution of mortality rates for cerebrovascular disease in Lower Saxony (Federal Republic of Germany).

Using the official mortality statistics for the 46 districts of Lower Saxony (Federal Republic of Germany) for the years 1975-1977, the geographical distribution of mortality from cerebrovascular disease was studied. Only in women was a slight tendency towards higher rates in rural areas found. There were only moderate correlations with the rates for ischaemic heart disease and no statistically significant correlations with the rates for diseases of peripheral vessels.

Cyclosporine versus azathioprine in the long-term treatment of multiple sclerosis--results of the German multicenter study.

In a double-blind controlled trial of 194 patients with clinically definite active multiple sclerosis, 98 were randomized to treatment with cyclosporine (CyA, 5 mg/kg/day), and 96 to treatment with azathioprine (Aza, 2.5 mg/kg/day). Eighty-five patients in the CyA group and 82 in the Aza group completed a treatment period of 24 to 32 months in accordance with the study protocol.

Crossreacting idiotypes of kappa-monoclonal immunoglobulins M in sera of patients with Waldenström's macroglobulinemia.

Seventeen anti-idiotypic antisera (anti-Id) were prepared against kappa-monoclonal IgM from patients with Waldenström's macroglobulinemia. Their reactivity against homologous and heterologous IgM was tested using an ELISA. Crossreacting idiotypes were only found in two out of 289 investigated antigen-antibody reactions.

Mollaret's meningitis: CSF-immunocytological examinations.

Mollaret's meningitis is a rare clinical entity consisting of recurrent attacks of meningeal irritation, which, after a sudden onset, last for a few days. The prognosis appears to be excellent, although the aetiology has not been established. In the CSF so-called endothelial cells are a typical finding, but their classification is not yet clear.

Polyneuropathy in Waldenström's macroglobulinaemia. Passive transfer from man to mouse.

To support the hypothesis of an immunopathogenesis of polyneuropathy in Waldenström's macroglobulinaemia (MW), serum IgM fractions of MW patients were applied intraperitoneally to mice for 17 days. Sections of liver, kidney, M. glutaeus maximus, central nervous system (CNS) and both Nn.

[Familial polyneuropathy with a disposition to pressure paralyses. A contribution to the differential diagnosis of mononeuropathies].

When a young woman admitted for recurrent peripheral nerve palsies was suspected to suffer from hereditary polyneuropathy with liability to pressure palsies, 8 members of her family were examined diagnostically. Only one of these had a history of a transient mononeuropathy. A neurophysiological examination demonstrated peripheral nerve lesions not only in the patients father but also in 5 of her brothers and sisters.

[Mycotic intracranial aneurysm in infective endocarditis of the mitral valve].

A 20-year-old woman suffering from mitral valve endocarditis due to streptococcus faecalis infection after blunt trauma and splenectomy complained of severe headache 18 days later. Cerebral angiography showed a left posterior artery aneurysm. A craniotomy was performed and the aneurysm could be successfully removed.

Primary germinoma of the brain. Immunocytochemical demonstration of tumour cells in the cerebrospinal fluid.

A patient is presented, who developed a suprasellar tumour. Stereotactical biopsy of the tumour revealed the diagnosis of a dysgerminoma. Immunocytochemical examination of the CSF showed neoplastic cells staining for human chorionic gonadotropin and for alpha-fetoprotein.

Tobacco-alcohol amblyopia neuro-ophthalmological findings and clinical course.

The clinical picture of 40 patients with tobacco-alcohol amblyopia (TAA) is described. In 15 patients the course of the disease was studied longitudinally over a period of 31 months. In addition in six patients the acute development of the disease was studied during a period of four weeks in-patient treatment.

[Tobacco-alcohol amblyopia. Clinical course in 33 patients].

The clinical data of 33 patients with tobacco-alcohol-amblyopia are described. Usually, the visual disturbance concerned both eyes and was not associated neither with headache nor with painful eye movements. The fundus was very often normal.

Reactivity of sera and isolated monoclonal IgM from patients with Waldenström's macroglobulinaemia with peripheral nerve myelin.

Sera of 23 patients with Waldenström's macroglobulinaemia and six monoclonal IgM paraproteins, which had been isolated from these sera, were examined for reactivity against peripheral nerve tissue. Of these 23 patients, 12 had clinical signs of peripheral polyneuropathy (PN). Using an indirect immunofluorescence method, all sera and monoclonal IgM preparations reacted with peripheral nerve structures, displaying a distinct granular fluorescence pattern with anti-IgM sera.

[Boeck's disease with unilateral optic nerve involvement].

A rare symptom of Boeck's disease is involvement of the fasciculus opticus. This paper reports on a patient with sarcoidosis who developed cerebral symptoms during the course of the disease; some months later he suffered an acute deterioration of vision in his right eye, with central scotoma but without papilledema. The difficulty of distinguishing this condition from bulbar neuritis in cases of multiple sclerosis is discussed.

The influence of disease activity on the number of blood cells of multiple sclerosis patients.

The influence of disease activity on blood cell counts was studied in over 100 multiple sclerosis patients examined at regular intervals of 4-8 weeks over an 18-month period. T-lymphocytes were assessed by the cytochemical alpha-naphthyl-acetate-esterase (ANAE) stain in addition to conventional differentials. In all patients as a group as well as in individual patients studied sequentially, an exacerbation was marked by a striking reduction in both the relative and absolute numbers of ANAE-positive cells.

Azathioprine in treatment of multiple sclerosis. Final results of a 41/2-year controlled study of its effectiveness covering 115 patients.

In an open, randomised, controlled follow-up study the effectiveness of continuous azathioprine therapy of multiple sclerosis with a dosage of 2 mg/kg/day was tested against a control group that was not treated with cytostatics. In the treated group the disease progressed less rapidly than in the untreated group. Statistically significant differences were only seen in patients having an intermittent-progressive course.