ABSTRACT
We examined the natural killer (NK) cell activity in 50 patients with dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) and 37 age-matched normal controls. The NK cell activity in DAT was significantly lower than in the normal controls. The NK cell activity induced by either interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) or interleukin-2 (IL-2) in DAT was also significantly lower than in the normal controls. There were no significant differences in the level of serum IL-2 and IFN-alpha between the two groups. As regards NK cell subsets, two-color flow cytometric analysis showed no significant differences between the percentages of Leu-11+ Leu-7- cells, Leu-11+ Leu-7+ cells and Leu-11- Leu-7+ cells in the two groups. Our results suggest that NK cells in DAT may have functional abnormalities and may provide important clues to fundamental cellular and molecular aberrations in DAT.
Subject(s)
Alzheimer Disease/immunology , Killer Cells, Natural/immunology , Antigens, Differentiation/analysis , Female , Humans , Interferon-alpha/blood , Interleukin-2/blood , Male , Middle AgedABSTRACT
The kappa/lambda (kappa/lambda) ratios of IgG, IgA and IgM in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and in the sera of 10 patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome were analyzed. The kappa/lambda ratios of IgG, IgA and IgM in the CSF and in the serum were not significantly different between the acute and the late stages of Guillain-Barré syndrome nor between Guillain-Barré syndrome and the normal controls. In the CSF, however, the concentration of albumin, IgG, IgA and IgM in the acute phases of Guillain-Barré syndrome were significantly higher than in the normal controls. These results suggest that in Guillain-Barré syndrome, the increase of immunoglobulins may not be due to intrathecal synthesis and therefore there are no significant changes in the kappa/lambda ratios in the CSF.
Subject(s)
Cerebrospinal Fluid Proteins/analysis , Immunoglobulin kappa-Chains/cerebrospinal fluid , Immunoglobulin lambda-Chains/cerebrospinal fluid , Immunoglobulins/cerebrospinal fluid , Polyradiculoneuropathy/cerebrospinal fluid , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Female , Humans , Immunoglobulin A/cerebrospinal fluid , Immunoglobulin G/cerebrospinal fluid , Immunoglobulin M/cerebrospinal fluid , Male , Middle Aged , Polyradiculoneuropathy/immunologyABSTRACT
Lymphocyte proliferation in dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) was evaluated by the level of mitogen response using phytohemagglutinin, pokeweed mitogen, concanavalin A and staphylococcal protein A. Lymphocyte subpopulations in the peripheral blood were also investigated using a monoclonal antibody with a fluorescence-activated cell sorter. The mitogen response in DAT was not significantly different from that in the normal controls. Lymphocyte subpopulations (Pan T, helper T, suppressor T, B cell, HLA-DR positive cell and helper/suppressor ratio) in DAT were not significantly different from those in the normal controls. These results suggest that the lymphocyte proliferative response to mitogens and the subpopulations in DAT may be natural in the normal aging process.
Subject(s)
Aging/immunology , Alzheimer Disease/immunology , Lymphocyte Activation , Lymphocyte Subsets , Adult , Aged , Alzheimer Disease/pathology , Flow Cytometry , Humans , Lymphocyte Activation/drug effects , Lymphocyte Subsets/drug effects , Lymphocyte Subsets/pathology , Middle Aged , Mitogens/pharmacologySubject(s)
Alzheimer Disease/physiopathology , Killer Cells, Natural/physiology , Aged , Alzheimer Disease/pathology , Female , Humans , MaleABSTRACT
A 59-year-old woman suffered from a single episode of transient global amnesia (TGA). A computerized tomographic scan and angiographic examinations revealed a falcotentorial meningioma, supplied by the posterior cerebral arteries. We suggest that TGA can be attributed to the vascular insufficiency in this case.
Subject(s)
Amnesia, Retrograde/diagnostic imaging , Amnesia/diagnostic imaging , Ischemic Attack, Transient/diagnostic imaging , Meningeal Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Meningioma/diagnostic imaging , Cerebral Angiography , Female , Humans , Middle Aged , Tomography, X-Ray ComputedABSTRACT
Kappa/lambda (kappa/lambda) ratios of each immunoglobulin, i.e. IgG, IgA and IgM in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and in sera of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) were analysed by sandwich enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. In CSF kappa/lambda ratios of IgG of MS patients were significantly (p less than 0.05) higher than those of normal controls, whereas the values of IgA and IgM did not differ significantly from those of normal controls. In sera kappa/lambda ratios of IgG, IgA and IgM did not differ significantly from those of normal controls. Our results suggest that in MS patients abnormal kappa/lambda ratios are also restricted to IgG components in CSF, as oligoclonal IgG bands are.
Subject(s)
Immunoglobulin kappa-Chains/analysis , Immunoglobulin lambda-Chains/analysis , Multiple Sclerosis/immunology , Cerebrospinal Fluid Proteins/analysis , Female , Humans , Immunoglobulin A/analysis , Immunoglobulin A/cerebrospinal fluid , Immunoglobulin G/analysis , Immunoglobulin G/cerebrospinal fluid , Immunoglobulin M/analysis , Immunoglobulin M/cerebrospinal fluid , Immunoglobulin kappa-Chains/cerebrospinal fluid , Immunoglobulin lambda-Chains/cerebrospinal fluid , Male , Multiple Sclerosis/blood , Multiple Sclerosis/cerebrospinal fluidABSTRACT
Two cases of pure sensory stroke due to pontine haemorrhage are reported. Haematomas were located in the dorsolateral tegmentum of the pons, detected by computed tomographic scan. One showed the cheiro-oral syndrome on the left side. The other showed sensory dysaesthesia on the right side of the body, followed by dysaesthesia of cheiro-oral distribution. These cases indicate that the pons can also be one of the lesion sites of pure sensory stroke.
