ABSTRACT
Blood from donors who are or who have been on drug treatment may be hazardous to the recipient. Guidelines are proposed to increase the safety of donated blood without needless rejection of donors, based on the time that should elapse between the last dose and safe blood donation for a range of commonly used drugs.
Subject(s)
Blood Donors , Pharmaceutical Preparations/blood , Blood Banks , Humans , Time Factors , Transfusion ReactionABSTRACT
Tumor-directed immunity was assessed in 29 patients with neuroblastoma (NB). Cell-mediated and humoral immunity were assessed in vitro using the one-stage direct capillary leukocyte migration inhibition test and the indirect, membrane immunofluorescence test, respectively. Leukocytes from 83% of NB patients, 40% of normal children, and 24% of adults were inhibited by NB-derived materials. NB patients' leukocytes reacted as frequently with materials from allogeneic neuroblastomas as with autologous extracts. Sera from 50% of NB patients, 8% of child controls, and 18% of adult controls reacted with allogeneic tissue cultured neuroblastoma cells. Leukocytes from NB patients, control children, and control adults were inhibited at a similar low frequency by extracts of human melanomas and cancers of cervix, colon, and breast. Sera from NB patients and controls reacted infrequently with cultured melanoma cells.
Subject(s)
Neuroblastoma/immunology , Antibody Formation , Cell Migration Inhibition , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Fluorescent Antibody Technique , Humans , Immunity, Cellular , Infant , Leukocytes/immunology , Male , Melanoma/immunologyABSTRACT
Tumor-directed cell-mediated and humoral immunity were assessed in vitro in neuroblastoma (NB) patients, and also in their relatives and genetically unrelated contacts, using the one-stage, direct, capillary leukocyte migration inhibition (LMI) test and the indirect, membrane, immunofluorescence test (IFT), respectively. Leukocytes from 83% and sera from 50% of NB patients examined were selectively reactive with NB cells, and materials derived from them. Genetically unrelated contacts as well as relatives of NB patients showed NB-directed immunity, the frequency of which increased with increasing closeness of contact with these patients. These findings suggest that the environment of NB patients may contain some tumor-derived material which induces detectable sensitization in those sharing that environment. Such tumor-derived material would appear to have a high degree of infectivity, low degree of oncogenicity, and probably also a low general pathogenicity.
Subject(s)
Neuroblastoma/immunology , Antibody Formation , Cell Migration Inhibition , Cells, Cultured , Child , Child, Preschool , Environmental Health , Female , Fluorescent Antibody Technique , Humans , Immunity, Cellular , Leukocytes/immunology , Male , Mother-Child Relations , Neuroblastoma/genetics , Patient Care TeamABSTRACT
1. Methotrexate handling has been studied in four patients with psoriasis and eleven patients with neoplastic disease. 2. Methotrexate levels in serum, tears and saliva were measured by radioimmunoassay while protein binding studies were performed by continuous ultrafiltration. 3. There was a close correlation between methotrexate concentrations in tears and serum (P less than 0.001, r = 0.714). Parotid salivary and serum methotrexate levels were similarly correlated (P less than 0.001, r = 0.557) but not mixed salivary and serum levels (P greater than 0.1, r = 0.232). 4. The mean protein binding was 95.11% +/- 2.26 (s.d.) while the ratio of methotrexate levels in tears to the free serum methotrexate level was 1:1.04. The corresponding parotid salivary level: free serum level ratio was 1:18.11. 5. No relationship could be determined between the methotrexate levels in tears and conjunctivitis observed in some of the patients under study.
