Subject(s)
Epiglottitis/diagnosis , Laryngitis/diagnosis , Acute Disease , Adult , Aged , Epiglottitis/physiopathology , Humans , MaleABSTRACT
Many strains of Escherichia coli possess an antigen that reacts with naturally occurring antibodies to human red cell B antigens. The authors tested the hypothesis that the presence of naturally occurring anti-B isoagglutinins afford protection against the development of E. coli septicemia. The blood groups found in 115 patients with E. coli septicemia were compared with those found in three "control" populations: 138 patients with septicemia due to other organisms, 23,135 hospitalized patients, and 40,038 normal blood donors. The relative incidence of B and AB blood groups (not containing anti-B antibodies) was significantly higher than A and O blood groups (containing anti-B antibodies) in the group with E. coli septicemia. This finding supports the hypothesis.
Subject(s)
Blood Group Antigens , Escherichia coli Infections/blood , ABO Blood-Group System , Humans , Retrospective Studies , Rh-Hr Blood-Group System , Sepsis/bloodABSTRACT
The enzyme glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) was assayed in the circulating erythrocytes of 38 20-to 30-year-old subjects and 29 80- to 90-year-old subjects. The red blood cell G6PD activity of an aged-unbiased erythrocyte population in the young group was found to be significantly higher than in the older group (5.46 +/- 1.06) vs (4.31 +/- 0.99) (P less than 0.001), respectively (mean +/- SD). No significant difference was observed between the mean enzyme values of the male and female subjects in the two age groups. Since the mature red blood cell is devoid of regenerative capabilities, one may propose an explanation for this observation that implicates either an alteration in G6PD synthesis in the erythrocyte precursor cells in aged hosts, and/or the presence of an inhibitory factor that has the effect of decreasing the assayed activity for this enzyme.
