Glomerulonephritis emerging shortly after Puumala hantavirus infection: a report on 7 patients.

AIMS: Nephropathia epidemica (NE) is mild type of hemorrhagic fever caused by Puumala (PUU) hantavirus. Renal biopsy typically shows acute tubulointerstitial nephritis and complete recovery is the usual outcome. We previously described 5 patients with membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN) after acute NE. We now report on 7 more patients who developed biopsy-confirmed glomerulonephritis (GN) during the convalescent phase of NE. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We present case histories of 7 patients with nephrotic-range proteinuria concomitant with hematuria after serologically verified NE. RESULTS: Renal biopsy specimens disclosed MPGN in 5 patients, membranous GN (MGN) in 1 and mesangial GN (MesGN) in 1. All patients achieved remission of nephrotic syndrome within a median time of 0.6 years (range 0.5 - 5.5 y). The median follow-up time was 1.7 years (0.7 - 15.6 y). CONCLUSIONS: As a rare phenomenon, nephrotic syndrome may emerge during the convalescent phase of acute PUU hantavirus infection. In most cases the prognosis of GN caused by NE seems to be favorable.

FT-IR breath test in the diagnosis and control of treatment of methanol intoxications.

A portable Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) multicomponent point-of-care analyzer was tested for the diagnosis of methanol intoxications. Breath analysis with FT-IR was fast and easy, and no sample preparation was needed. The analyzer was adequately sensitive and accurate in detecting and quantitating clinically relevant amounts of ethanol and methanol in the breath of seriously ill patients. FT-IR spectrometry was also suitable for nearly on-line monitoring of the exhaled ethanol and methanol during hemodialysis. The breath analysis results correlated well with blood samples. The FT-IR method used also has a traceable calibration to physical properties of the analyte, and the measured spectra can be saved for later analysis.

The use of low-resolution FT-IR spectrometry for the analysis of alcohols in breath.

Fast and reliable diagnostic methods are needed for detection or exclusion of industrial solvents as a cause of intoxication. Analyzing human breath reveals the presence of any volatile substance. A portable Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) multicomponent point-of-care analyzer was developed for exhaled breath. The analyzer proved to be accurate and precise in laboratory tests for simultaneous measurement of methanol and ethanol in water. Ethanol, in addition to normal contents of breath, was simultaneously analyzed in human experiments, and the results correlated well with blood samples. FT-IR method has a traceable calibration to physical properties of the analyte. The measured spectra can also be saved and analyzed later. Breath analysis with FT-IR is fast and easy, and no preparation of the sample is needed.

Field test of electret ion chambers for environmental monitoring.

A field test of electret ion chambers was performed to evaluate their performance in making environmental exposure measurements at nuclear facilities. The objectives of the study were to determine electret ion chamber variability and to perform comparisons with thermoluminescent dosimeter and high-pressure ion chamber measurements. Three electret ion chambers were placed at each of 40 monitoring locations in the vicinity of a commercial nuclear power station during four consecutive quarters. The electret ion chamber measurements were compared to thermoluminescent dosimeter measurements made by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. Two types of comparison were made with the high-pressure ion chamber. One used yearly average electret ion chamber measurement and instantaneous high-pressure ion chamber measurements at 15 of the monitoring locations. The other involved the simultaneous exposure of five electret ion chambers and the high-pressure ion chamber for 15 d at a single location. The mean ratios of electret ion chamber measurements to thermoluminescent dosimeter measurements was 1.06. The mean ratio of electret ion chamber measurements to instantaneous and simultaneous high-pressure ion chamber measurements were 1.06 and 1.07, respectively. Electret variability, defined here as the ratio of the standard deviation to the mean, was determined for each set of three detectors. The average variability for the 160 sets of quarterly measurements was approximately 7%. Among the 450 individual electret measurements, there were six outliers. Based on the results of this study, electret ion chambers appear to yield accurate measurements of environmental exposure provided that measures are taken to either minimize or correct for radon interferences and care is taken to prevent spurious discharges during handling.

Herpes simplex virus antigens and inflammatory cells in oral lesions in recurrent erythema multiforme. Immunoperoxidase and autoradiographic studies.

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) antigens were sought in 15 biopsy specimens from both lesional mucosa and clinically healthy looking oral mucosa between attacks in patients with erythema multiforme (EM). Four of the eight biopsy specimens obtained from lesional EM mucosa stained positively with HSV-1-and/or HSV-2-specific antisera applied in direct immunoperoxidase staining. Of the 16 tissue specimens used as controls, two displayed positive staining with HSV-1 and/or HSV-2. Five of the seven biopsy specimens from macroscopically healthy oral mucosa obtained between attacks from patients with recurrent EM stained positively with HSV-1 and/or HSV-2. Of the six tissue specimens used as controls, three stained positively. Most of the local inflammatory mononuclear cells belonged to the T cell series, mainly to the CD-4 subset. A small proportion of the local T cells were blast transformed as assessed by CD-25 expression and [3H]thymidine incorporation. This, together with the findings showing a lower degree of activation in the biopsy from macroscopically healthy looking mucosa between attacks suggest an active role of the cell-mediated immune response in the genesis of oral lesions in EM. The persistence of HSV antigens, and the well-established role of HSV as a precipitating factor in recurrent EM, suggest that HSV may be involved, but since HSV seems to be present in other mucosal lesions as well as in clinically healthy mucosa, quite frequently an additional, hitherto unknown factor must be present in order that EM may occur.

Synovial fluid lymphocytes in different subtypes of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.

We studied the subsets of synovial fluid (SF) lymphocytes and their activation states in 4 subtypes of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. The expression of lymphocyte differentiation antigens and activation markers (Ia and Tac) appeared to be similar in these subgroups. Tac + DNA-synthesizing T blasts represented, at most, 5% of all SF mononuclear cells. This finding was in clear contrast to the high proportion of Ia-positive SF mononuclear cells. There were no differences in Ia and Tac expression or DNA synthesis among the different juvenile rheumatoid arthritis subgroups. This finding suggests that the cell-mediated immune response may represent secondary features of the disease that are involved as a final common pathogenetic pathway.