[Acute purulent meningitis of traumatic origin. 16 cases].

The current frequency of road accidents leads to the necessity to seek a possible head injury in the past history of patients suffereing from acute purulent meningitis. This investigation must be all the more assiduous in the presence of a meningitis which is pneumococcal in origin and recurrent. Rhinorrhoea is a sign of primary importance.

[Pathophysiology of infectious diseases in immunosuppressive therapy (author's transl)].

The frequency and the nature of infections due to immunosuppressive therapy is well established now, but the pathophysiology of these infections is not very well known. Immunosuppressive effect itself, other secondary effects, and frequently the preexisting disease, decrease host resistance to infection. With some examples, it is attempted to link the nature of infectious diseases observed in the immunosuppressive therapy, to the effect of these drugs on host resistance to infections.

Partial myeloperoxidase deficiency in a case of preleukaemia. II. Defects of degranulation and abnormal bactericidal activity of blood neutrophils.

A patient with a refractory anaemia preceding acute myeloblastic leukaemia had an increased susceptibility to infection due to Staphylococcus aureus. 36% of neutrophils lacked myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity and, in vitro, these polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) had a defect of bactericidal activity against Staphylococcus aureus. Cytochemical studies of phagocytosis with the electron miscroscope have shown that the degranulation of primary granules (MPO+ or MPO-) was normal after phagocytosis of Escherichia coli which were normally lysed.