Positron emission tomography in neuropsychiatric lupus erythematosus.

We performed positron emission tomography (PET) using 18F-labeled 2-F-2-deoxyglucose in 13 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Ten of them had clinical signs of central nervous system involvement (NP-SLE). All patients with neurologic symptoms showed pathologic changes on PET, always in accordance with the clinical state. Three patients without neuropsychiatric manifestations had normal PETs. Computed tomography of the brain and magnetic resonance imaging proved to be less sensitive to both presence and localization of CNS lesions. We conclude that the combination of PET and MRI constitutes the most useful diagnostic procedure for NP-SLE.

Efficacy and safety of a polyester leukocyte removal filter for whole blood and red cell concentrate filtration.

Patients receiving multiple whole blood transfusions often experience adverse clinical symptoms caused by leukocytes. In the present study, the efficacy and safety of a polyester filter for leukocytes (Sepacell R-500) was evaluated. Donor units of whole blood and red cell concentrate stored for varying lengths of time were filtered. Emphasis was placed on humoral parameters indicative of release and/or activation reactions of granulocytes (neutral proteinase elastase, lysozyme, aggregation, chemiluminescence) and erythrocytes (lactate dehydrogenase, plasma haemoglobin). Nonspecific adsorption effects were investigated by plasma protein determinations (albumin, alpha 2-macroglobulin). A complete blood cell count as well as values of haemoglobin and haematocrit were determined. Sepacell R-500 proved to be a highly efficient filter to the leukocyte depletion of blood. Our results of erythrocyte and granulocyte related humoral parameters provided no significant evidence of filtration mediated activation or releasing reactions of clinical consequence.