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C R Abramowsky

Publications and source records attributed to C R Abramowsky.

48 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1981

Dirofilaria immitis. 5. Immunopathology of filarial nephropathy in dogs.

Fourteen beagles infected with larvae (microfilariae) of Dirofilaria immitis, were randomly selected from another study in which the toxic effects of subfilaricidal doses of diethylcarbamazine were being evaluated. This group of 14 dogs, together with 4 uninfected control animals, were variably sacrificed between 14 and 25 months after larval inoculations, and the ensuing renal lesions were studied by light and ultrastructural microscopy and by immunofluorescence and antibody elution techniques. On the basis of these studies, two groups of animals were distinguished. The first group was characterized by a striking pattern of linear fluorescence and fine ultrastructural dense deposits along the glomerular basement membrane, poor antibody response, and an inability to clear microfilariae from the tissues and circulation. The second group, with a nonlinear pattern of fluorescence, was characterized by a strong immune response, efficient elimination of microfilariae, and immunofluorescence and ultrastructural evidence of predominantly mesangiopathic immune complex renal disease. In both groups, elution studies demonstrated tissue deposits of antiworm antibodies, suggesting a filaria-antibody immune-complex nephropathy. No evidence was found for the presence of anti-basement-membrane antibodies. On the basis of a previous experimental model, it is postulated that in the first group of animals with linear fluorescence, the observed lesions may represent a natural form of an immunopathogenic mechanism of glomerular damage in which filarial antigen becomes uniformly localized in the glomerulus and elicits an autologous antibody response. The possible role of the drug diethylcarbamazine in inducing this mechanism of immune injury is discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Undifferentiated (embryonal) sarcoma of the liver with alpha-1-antitrypsin deposits: immunohistochemical and ultrastructural studies.

Periodic acid-Schiff-positive diastase-resistant globules are described in an undifferentiated (embryonal) sarcoma of the liver in a 14-year-old boy. These globules were shown to contain alpha-1-antitrypsin (A-1-AT) protein by immunofluorescence techniques. Further immunohistochemical studied revealed albumin and gamma globulins, but no alpha-feto protein (AFP). Electron microscopic studies showed large, electron-dense bodies consistent with phagolysosomal structures, and distinct from that described in alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency (A-1-ATD). These findings suggested that the globules in this tumor may represent trapping of serum proteins by the malignant cell. These observations are discussed in connection with recent studies linking the deficiency disease and epithelial hepatic tumors.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Intermediate-range sweat chloride concentration and Pseudomonas bronchitis. A cystic fibrosis variant with preservation of exocrine pancreatic function.

We studied the clinical and laboratory characteristics of seven patients with sweat chloride concentration consistently between 40 and 60 mEq/liter. Each has chronic Pseudomonas bronchitis, and all lack digestive symptoms. Laboratory findings indicate the preservation of exocrine pancreatic function. The patients include two of five children in one family and two of four in another. In a third family, one of five siblings has an intermediate sweat chloride concentration, but another has a typical fibrosis value (105 mEq/liter). One patient died of respiratory failure; results of an autopsy showed bronchiolectasis typical of cystic fibrosis, but minimal pancreatic changes. The data suggest a genetic basis for this variant of cystic fibrosis. These patients may be homozygous for a portion of a closely linked multigene cystic fibrosis locus or may have modifier genes that ameliorate the pancreatic and sweat lesions.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

Postmortem demonstration of esophageal varices by a simple method.

The usual methods available to demonstrate esophageal varices in postmortem material have met with little success because of their unreliability, difficulty to execute, or cost. A simple, inexpensive method, which consists in separating the esophageal mucosa and submucosa from the muscularis and stretching the former over a suitable absorbent paper, is described. In a few minutes, as the adherent membrane dries, the submucosal vascular pattern gradually develops, and after overnight drying, even the smallest venules are clearly visible. The specimen can be stored dry, photographed, or made into a more permanent preparation in a few days. The esophageal mucosal vascular patterns in groups of patients who died with a variety of hepatic diseases and other potential causes of esophageal varices were studied and compared with controls. A consistent pattern of prominent venous trunks located towards the distal third of the esophagus was seen in most specimens from cirrhotic patients, predominantly in micronodular forms with severe lobular distortion. Other potential causes of esophageal varices (hepatic tumors, congestion, etc.) resulted in less predictable vascular patterns.

Autopsy↗
PubMed1974

IgA nephropathy.

From a series of 470 specimens of renal tissue examined by immunofluorescence microscopy, 20 specimens were identified and studied in detail from patients without evidence of systemic disease in which IgA was the predominant localizing immunoglobulin. All patients presented with hematuria which was recurrent or persistent, often being exacerbated by upper respiratory infection. Most of the group pursued a benign clinical course with little evidence of decline in renal function. Histopathologic changes in renal biopsy specimens of most of the group consisted of a proliferative glomerulonephritis of variable intensity. Characteristic alterations were seen by electron microscopy which included the presence of electron-dense deposits within the mesangium, the hilar regions of the glomerulus and the basement membrane of Bowman's capsule. Evidence for activation of complement by the alternate pathway at C3 was found with properdin localization in 14 of 15 specimens and with the absence of detectable Clq and C4 in 15 specimens studied for these early acting components. It is concluded that the combined clinical, morphologic and immunologic findings warrant consideration of IgA nephropathy as a distinct clinicopathologic entity.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Immunofluorescence studies of lung tissue in cystic fibrosis.

Previous studies have suggested that immune mechanisms contribute to lung injury in cystic fibrosis (CF); however, there have been no comprehensive studies of immunofluorescent staining patterns in CF lung tissue. We performed immunofluorescence (IF) studies for immunoglobulins, C3, and fibrinogen on autopsy frozen lung tissue from 21 CF patients. Results were compared with lung findings in patients without CF. In CF-derived lung tissue fibrinogen was ubiquitous along the alveolar wall, alveolar space, and interstitium. Free immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgA coated the alveolar surface segmentally in 14 and 6 cases, respectively. Unequivocal interstitial deposits were infrequent and IgM was present in blood vessels in one patient only. Intra-alveolar and interstitial inflammatory cells demonstrated cytoplasmic IgG, IgA, and IgM, respectively, in 18, 14, and 6 patients. C3 was seen only segmentally along the alveolar wall in two patients and in blood vessels in one. Antinuclear antibody (ANA) staining of interstitial cells for C3 and immunoglobulins was seen in five patients, four of whom had interstitial pneumonitis. Insignificant amounts of alveolar or interstitial fibrinogen and immunoglobulins in inflammatory cells were seen in controls in the absence of lung inflammation. The IF patterns were similar in the inflammatory lesions of CF and control specimens. The IF patterns observed in CF lung tissue are consistent with nonspecific vascular leakage and chronic inflammation with little evidence of immune complex deposition in the interstitium or blood vessels. This study confirms previous reports of ANA activity in CF patients, although the significance of this finding is unknown.

Adolescent↗