Comparison of seroprevalences of human herpesvirus-6 and -7 in healthy blood donors from nine countries.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the study was to register antibody prevalences of HHV-7 in various locations of the world in comparison to the closely related HHV-6. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sera of healthy blood donors from nine countries in five continents were titered by indirect immunofluorescent assays using HHV-6 infected HSB2 and HHV-7 infected SupT1 cells. RESULTS: Antibody prevalence for HHV-7 is high (75-98%) in practically all countries except for Northern Japan (44%), with no simple correlation to elevated HHV-6 antibody titers. There were regions of low, intermediate and high mean antibody titers against HHV-7 such as 78.5-91.3 for Belgium, Israel, Japan, USA and Australia, 175.4-182.6 for Mexico and Cologne/Germany, and 389.2 for South Africa for which geographic characteristics may be responsible. CONCLUSION: HHV-7, similar to HHV-6, is a widespread human herpesvirus with elevated antibody titers in the healthy human population essentially everywhere. The data warrant further studies to evaluate its possible pathologic potential, preferentially in persons with defective immune responses.

Immunopathology of liver diseases

Esta revisión resume los conocimientos actuales de la copatogénesis inmunopatológica de las principales enfermedades hepáticas, incluyendo la hepatitis viral, hepatitis autoinmune, rechazo de trasplante, reacción del huésped hacia el injerto y otras. El trabajo se refiere principalmente a las implicaciones de los datos para el diagnóstico de la práctica clínica y en menor grado a los datos de las más recientes investigaciones, por lo que está dirigido principalmente al hepatólogo y al patólogo en ejercicio. Los autores desean que la lectura de este trabajo sirva como referencia práctica para el diagnóstico diferencial de las enfermedades hepáticas cada vez más frecuentes

[Prevalence of human herpesvirus 7 in Mexican blood donors]. / Prevalencia del virus humano herpes 7 en donadores de sangre Mexicanos.

The human herpes virus 7 (HHV-7) has been recently isolated from CD4 cells of healthy persons. The present study describes the antibody prevalence of this virus in a healthy Mexican population. Two hundred blood samples from candidates for blood donation at the Hospital General de Mexico were studied with the indirect immunofluorescence test (IFA) in HHV-7 infected SupT1 cells. The testing was done in the University of Cologne, Germany; 167 were males and 33 female; the donors came from 12 of the 31 states in the Mexican republican, predominantly from Mexico City (60.5%) and the State of Mexico (28%). Their mean age was 29.2 years. All but three samples were positive to the HHV-7 (98.5% positivity). Nearly 85% had high titers (> or = 1:80). Other serology testing in the samples revealed 1% positive tests to hepatitis B, 2% to syphilis, and 0.5% to brucella. Hepatitis C and the HIV test were negative in all. The high prevalence of HHV-7 in our donor population should be further studied in order to determine titers indicative of an active infection and of their association with illnesses.

[Initial studies of the prevalence of human Herpesvirus 7 (HHV-7) in Mexican blood donors]. / Erste Untersuchungen zur Durchseuchung mexikanischer Blutspender mit dem humanen Herpesvirus 7 (HHV-7).

Human herpesvirus 7 (HHV-7) has been recently isolated from CD4-positive peripheral blood lymphocytes of a healthy person. The present study was performed to find the antibody prevalence of this virus in the healthy Mexican population. Two hundred blood samples from candidates for blood donation at the General Hospital of Mexico were studied with the indirect immunofluorescence test (IFA) in HHV-7 infected SupT1 cells. 83.5% were male persons and 16.5% female, the mean age for the male group was 28.8 years and for the female group 31.5. The donors came from 12 different states in Mexico, predominantly from the city (60.8%), and had different occupations. Almost all samples (98.5%) were positive to HHV-7. Other studies done revealed 1% positive to brucella, 1% positive to Hepatitis B, 2% positive to syphilis, hepatitis C and HIV test were negative in the whole group studied. There was a high incidence of HHV-7 in the group studied: more than 50% of the subject had high titers. This results should be further studied determine titers indicative of an active infection and to search for any association with illnesses.

Environmental pollution and malignant lymphomas: a tentative contribution to geographic pathology.

The present study reports of the geographic distribution of 2,878 cases of uniformly classified malignant lymphomas and of 2,349 similar cases from the literature. Data on histological entities are compared with the geographic and socio-economic characteristics of the regions where they preferentially occur. The results provide three patterns in lymphoma distribution: small cell lymphocytic lymphomas are frequent among populations of European extraction and in farming rather than industrial regions. Lymphomas derived from cells of the germinal center are seen preferentially in so-called "underdeveloped countries", and large cell (immunoblastic) lymphomas appear rather characteristic of industrial areas. Besides genetic influences (rare chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in Asia as compared to Europe), the results suggest environmental cofactors in the pathogenesis of malignant lymphomas. CLL is more frequent in areas with rather low-dose chronic toxic influences such as from the use of fertilizers and pesticides in farming. Germinal center cell lymphomas tend to occur more frequently in countries with nutritional and hygienic deficiencies with frequent infectious diseases. Large cell high malignancy lymphomas apparently prefer highly industrialized regions with pollution of water supplies by more toxic and immunosuppressive substances.

Carcinoma nasofaringeo: actualizacion del tema y frecuencia en nuestro medio / Nasopharingeal carcinoma: update and prevalence in Colombia

El carcinoma Nasofaringeo (CNF) es una neoplasia que se origina en el epitelio que recubre las criptas de la nasofaringe. En el momento actual constituye un modelo unico para investigar la contribucion de factores geneticos, virales y quimicos en la etiologia de un tumor maligno en el hombre. Se sabe que el virus de Epstein Barr, esta implicado en su etiologia pero el mecanismo de su accion no se conoce. En el presente articulo se actualiza la informacion mas reciente relacionada con la neoplasia y se presentan los resultados de un estudio que sobre la frecuencia relativa y la biologia del CNF se ha efectuado en nuestro medio

Consideraciones sobre la esplecectomia en la leucemia de celulas peludas / Splenectomy in hairy cell leukemia

Durante el lapso comprendido entre 1972 y 1981 , se estudiaron 10 pacientes a quienes en base al cuadro clinico y hematologico se les establecio el diagnostico de "leucemia de celulas peludas", cifra que corresponde al 1.8% del total de leucemias estudiadas en la Clinica de la Universidad de Colonia en dicho periodo. En forma "tipica", el cuadro clinico comprendio franca esplenomegalia, adenomegalia variable (usualmente ausente) y discreta hepatomegalia. Desde el punto de vista hematologico se encontro anemia, trombocitopenia y leucopenia con neutropenia y linfocitosis. La observacion de los extendidos de sangre y de medula osea mostro porcentajes variables de "celulas peludas", las cuales se confirmaron como tales por medio de la tincion de fosfatasa acida resistente al tartrato (considerada como el medio mas preciso de diagnostico hasta la fecha). Asimismo se confirmo la fibrosis e infiltracion linfocitica en la medula osea. Al efectuarse la esplenectomia en estos pacientes, las imagens clinica y hematologica se normalizaron. Sin embargo, no se aprecio reduccion significativa de la susceptibilidad a contraer procesos infecciosos recidivantes en estos pacientes