Bronquiolitis obliterante con neumonía organizativa asociada a infección por Mycoplasma pneumoniae / Bronchiolitis obliterans with organizing pneumonia associated with Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection

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[Lupus nephropathy treated with cyclosporine A. Report of 3 cases]. / Nefropatía lúpica tratada con ciclosporina A. A propósito de tres casos.

Three patients are reported who had systemic lupus erythematosus and membrane-proliferative glomerulonephritis. These patients failed to respond to intravenous cyclophosphamide and steroids and were then changed to receive oral cyclosporine A, at a dose of 5 mg/kg/day. The three patients showed remission of disease, symptoms, and renal and immunological parameters, with minimal secondary effects. The medical literature was reviewed and cyclosporine A is suggested to be a therapeutical choice for patients with lupus nephropathy even when they do not respond to other immunosuppressive regimes, such as pulse cyclophosphamide.

[The prevalence of hepatitis C virus markers in a series of 14 patients with essential mixed cryoglobulinemia]. / Prevalencia de marcadores del virus de la hepatitis C en una serie de catorce pacientes con crioglobulinemia mixta esencial.

This paper studies the prevalence of antibodies against hepatitis B and C virus in 14 patients with essential mixed cryoglobulinemia (EMC), comparing the results with those of 14 systemic erythematosus lupus (SEL) patients and 14 health people. Our results show a very low positivity rate of virus B markers in patients with EMC. In other hand, 10 of 14 patients with EMC have antibodies against hepatitis C virus, both with ELISA and Innolia confirmatory method--and none SEL patient or health people. We conclude, according with other published series, that a very high prevalence of antibodies against hepatitis C is found in patients with EMC.

T lymphocytes from alcoholic cirrhotic patients show normal interleukin-2 production but a defective proliferative response to polyclonal mitogens.

T lymphocyte proliferation is a complex process involving intra- and extracellular molecules. T cell activation was studied in T lymphocytes from patients with alcoholic cirrhosis. A defective phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-induced T cell mitogenesis was observed in 60% of these patients. Likewise, their blastogenic response to anti-CD3 was also depressed (p < 0.05). However, the DNA synthesis induced by stimulation with phorbol esters (12-O-tetradecanoil-phorbol-13-acetate) + ionomycin was normal (p > 0.05). These alterations cannot be ascribed either to decreased interleukin-2 synthesis or to a defective interleukin-2 receptor expression after cellular activation. Moreover, supplementation of the PHA-stimulated T cell cultures with saturant concentrations of recombinant interleukin-2 did not normalize the hypoproliferative response of T cells from alcoholic++ cirrhotic patients. These results provide evidence that a generalized alteration in the interactions between either mitogens or interleukin-2 and their receptors can explain the T lymphocyte-defective blastogenesis found in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis.

Acute pancreatitis and systemic lupus erythematosus: necropsy of a case and review of the pancreatic vascular lesions.

The role of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in the development of acute pancreatitis is a matter of controversy since, in many cases, this complication has been attributed to the drugs administered. In this study, we present a patient diagnosed as having SLE who developed acute pancreatitis with no apparent cause aside from her basic disease, and in whose necropsy was observed vascular damage consisting of severe intimal proliferation. Pancreatic vascular lesions in previously reported patients with lupus are reviewed.

[Hodgkin's disease in patients with infection caused by the human immunodeficiency virus. Study of 9 cases]. / Enfermedad de Hodgkin en pacientes con infección por el virus de la inmunodeficiencia humana. Estudio de 9 casos.

Nine young males with Hodgkin's disease (HD) and antibodies against the human immunodeficiency virus were evaluated. They had been diagnosed since 1984 in three Madrid hospitals: Hospital 12 de Octubre, Hospital Ramón y Cajal, and Clínica Puerta de Hierro. Eight patients were intravenous heroin abusers and one was homosexual. In 8 patients (88.8%) HD presented in advanced stages (III and IV), and in 5 cases (55.5%) the histology corresponded to mixed cell type. Four patients (44.4%) developed opportunistic infections. In the immunological study a reduction of CD4+ lymphocytes below 0.4 X 10(3)/l was found in 5 of 7 patients (71.4%), and an inversion of CD4+/CD8+ ratio in 6 of 7 patients (85.7%). The response to therapy was poor. Five patients died (55.5%). In 4, the direct cause of death was an opportunistic infection. The reasons why we think that HD in patients with HIV infections should be considered as indicating acquired immunodeficiency syndrome are discussed.

The association of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma with glomerulonephritis.

Paraneoplastic glomerulonephritis is an infrequent complication in the course of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (21 cases to date). We report a modality not previously described: mesangioproliferative glomerulonephritis and mixed lymphocytic lymphoma, and review the literature on the subject. The onset of the two processes was simultaneous. Antitumour treatment induced simultaneous remission of the lymphoma and glomerulonephritis.