Adverse effects on EEG and clinical condition after immunizing children with convulsive disorders.

116 immunizations were given to 61 children with febrile convulsion or epilepsy who had not had a seizure for 1 year since the last attack. In 92 of the 116 immunizations the electroencephalogram (EEG) was examined before and after immunization. No adverse effects on the EEG were observed in 19 immunizations with Japanese encephalitis, measles, mumps or rubella vaccines. Epileptic spikes reappeared after 10 immunizations and epileptic spikes increased after 10 immunizations among 73 given for diphtheria, acellular pertussis and tetanus (DPT), diphtheria and tetanus (DT), or Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG). A convulsion was observed once in one child 7 days after immunization with BCG. A follow-up EEG examination is necessary after children with convulsive disorders are immunized.

Antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity and natural killer activity against HTLV-1 infected cells.

Antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) and natural killer (NK) activity were examined using MT-2 cells persistently infected by HTLV-1 as target cells, and mononuclear cells as effector cells, from healthy one-week-old newborn babies, infants, children and adults. More than 10% of ADCC was observed in 17 newborn babies out of 22 (77.3%) and in all 67 healthy one-month-old babies to adults, by adding serum from anti-HTLV-1 positive carriers. When anti-HTLV-1 negative serum was added, less than 10% of ADCC was observed. If infants without anti-HTLV-1 antibodies were breast-fed they had the possibility of HTLV-1 vertical transmission. There was no significant decrease in NK activity between 90 healthy newborn babies, infants, children, or adults. These results suggest that ADCC and NK activity protect against the transmission of HTLV-1 from mother to child.

Comparison of acyclovir and vidarabine in immunocompromised children with varicella-zoster virus infection.

Intravenous acyclovir and vidarabine were compared in the treatment of varicella-zoster virus (VZV) infection in 25 immunocompromised children--13 with acute lymphocytic leukemia, three with other types of cancer, two with immunodeficiency and in seven undergoing prednisolone treatment. Thirteen had varicella and 12 had herpes zoster. Acyclovir was given intravenously to five patients with varicella and to four with herpes zoster at a dose of 5-10 mg/kg every eight hours. Vidarabine was given intravenously to eight patients with varicella and to eight with herpes zoster at a dose of 10 mg/kg/day. In varicella, vidarabine significantly shortened the time from the start of treatment to cessation of new lesion formation compared with acyclovir. However, there was no significant difference in time to complete crusting between the two treatments. In herpes zoster, acyclovir significantly shortened the time from the onset of the skin lesions to complete crusting. A slight raise of GOT in two cases was reported. While acyclovir and vidarabine were equally effective for VZV infection, in herpes zoster acyclovir was more effective.

Effects of booster HB vaccine in preventing hepatitis B virus infection from mother to child.

Hepatitis B immune serum 200 IU was injected intramuscularly to 127 infants born to hepatitis B e antigen positive mothers immediately after birth and at two months of age, and if necessary at four months. HB adjuvant vaccine 20 micrograms was injected subcutaneously at three, four, and six months. If antibodies to hepatitis B surface antigen were 2(2) or less, one to four doses of booster vaccine 20 micrograms were given. The first booster vaccination was given in 8.7% of cases by the age of one year, in 19.3% by 18 months, in 23.9% by 24 months, and in 36.2% by 30 months; thus 2-to-3-year-old infants were more frequently vaccinated than younger ones. This implies that 80%-90% of infants could be protected from vertical transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV) up to the age of three years, if a booster vaccine was given to those born to HBeAg positive mothers not later than 24 months. Infants obtained enough antibody to prevent HBV infection by receiving one booster vaccination in 34 cases, by two in nine, by three in five, and by four in two.

Analysis of lymphocyte response to chironomid midge antigens in asthmatic and non-asthmatic individuals.

Chironomid antigens are currently one of the important allergens for bronchial asthma in Japan. We evaluated in vitro responses of peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) to chironomid antigens and compared these responses with serum IgE levels. PBLs from adult asthmatic patients showed stronger proliferation in response to the extract of adult midges of Chironomus yoshimatsui compared with healthy adults. On the other hand, elevated PBL responses of child asthmatic patients to chironomid antigens were not observed. There was no significant correlation between PBL proliferation and the serum IgE level. Our results might suggest that elevated PBL proliferation in response to chironomid allergens has somehow important pathogenic roles in adult cases although this does not correlate directly with specific IgE production.