ABSTRACT
The concentrations of maternal anti-RSV IgG antibodies were followed in 49 healthy newborns over the first six months of life. At birth, 41 mothers (83%) tested positive for anti-RSV IgG and all of their babies carried maternal anti-RSV IgG. Anti-RSV IgG positivity dropped to 73% at 1 month, 6% at 3 months, and 2% at 6 months. Between 3 and 6 months, 8% did acquire RSV infection, half of them as acute bronchiolitis and half as non-specific respiratory infection. All of the patients who acquired clinical RSV disease had an antibody concentration of <20 RU/ml which may be the cut off value for protection.
Subject(s)
Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic/blood , Antibodies, Viral/blood , Immunity, Maternally-Acquired/immunology , Pregnancy Complications, Infectious/blood , Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections/transmission , Respiratory Syncytial Viruses/immunology , Female , Humans , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Male , Pregnancy , Pregnancy Complications, Infectious/immunology , Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections/blood , Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections/immunologyABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The relationship between hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and iron status in type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) has not been adequately studied. In this prospective investigation, we aimed to determine the effect of iron deficiency on HbA1c in diabetic patients who also had insufficient iron stores. METHODS: Thirty-seven patients with type 1 DM were included in the study. Eleven of them were also iron deficient (ID) and the remaining 26 were iron-sufficient (IS). Two non-diabetic control groups were selected for the ID and IS groups. All patients with ID were treated with iron at 6 mg/kg per day for 3 months. Glycemia in diabetic patients was monitored at home before breakfast and supper by a glycometer. Hemoglobin A1c was measured in all subjects at the beginning and the end of the study. RESULTS: Patients with ID DM had higher levels of HbA1c than those in the control group (P < 0.001). There were no significant differences in the weekly average glucose concentration of the patients with ID DM before and after iron supplementation. In contrast, HbA1c decreased from a mean of 10.1 +/- 2.7% to a mean of 8.2 +/- 3.1% (P < 0.05). Additionally, HbA1c in ID non-diabetic patients decreased from a mean of 7.6 +/- 2.6% to 6.2 +/- 1.4% after iron therapy (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that among type 1 DM patients with similar level of glycemia, iron deficiency anemia is associated with higher concentrations of HbA1c. In addition, iron replacement therapy leads to a drop in HbA1c in both diabetic and non-diabetic patients. The iron status of the patient must be considered during the interpretation of HbA1c concentrations in type 1 DM.
Subject(s)
Anemia, Iron-Deficiency/blood , Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1/blood , Glycated Hemoglobin/analysis , Adolescent , Anemia, Iron-Deficiency/complications , Child , Child, Preschool , Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1/complications , Female , Humans , Male , Prospective StudiesABSTRACT
This report describes an 11-year-old boy with idiopathic pulmonary hemosiderosis. His only presenting symptom was severe anemia due to iron deficiency. Idiopathic pulmonary hemosiderosis was diagnosed nine years after the onset of symptoms. During this period many invasive and non-contributory investigations were performed. This report describes the patient's diagnostic problems, clinical features and dramatic improvement with chloroquine (250 mg/day) after failing to respond to megadose methylprednisolone (30 mg/kg). One year later, chloroquine was discontinued. The patient has remained in remission since March 1994. Chloroquine should be used for this life-threatening condition since it is less toxic than other immunosuppressive drugs.
