Poly I:C (polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid) stimulated hyaluronic acid production by rheumatoid and non-rheumatoid human synovial fibroblasts. Stimulation was dose dependent and was inhibited by acetylsalicyclic acid and indomethacin. Poly I and Poly C, when separately added, had no stimulatory effect on hyaluronic acid production, and Poly A:U had only a slight effect on this parameter. Cells grown with Poly I:C were virus resistant and interferon was detected in their medium. Human interferon had also a dose-dependent stimulatory effect on hyaluronic acid production by synovial cells. A possible interferon-mediated relationship between virus infection and pathologic accumulation of joint fluid is suggested.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Sudden deafness due to infection by Mycoplasma pneumoniae.

A case is described of sudden unilateral deafness associated with Mycoplasma pneumoniae. The hearing function of the patient returned to normal on the third day of treatment with tetracycline. M pneumoniae is a common causative agent of protean respiratory disease and the true incidence of hearing loss in these cases may be higher than reflected by the occasional reports. Therefore, appropriate laboratory studies should be included in the evaluation of sensorineural loss associated with diverse infections of the respiratory tract. Prompt diagnosis facilitates the administration of specific treatment. However, the actual contribution of tetracyclines to restoration of hearing cannot be assessed.

Child↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Rate and various aspects of eye infection resulting from congenital rubella.

A study on the eyes of 39 embryos, which were removed from women who had contracted clinical or subclinical rubella during the first and beginning of the second trimester of gestation is presented. A virological and histological study was performed on the eyes. In four cases rubella virus was isolated from the eye tissues (10.3%) and in nine cases, histological evidence of rubella cataract was found (27.3%). These results suggest that the rubella infection, even in cases of subclinical infections in pregnant women in the first trimester, are highly dangerous (in our study--37.6%) to the eye of the fetus, and, therefore, early diagnosis is necessary in order to avoid the risk of the consequences of congenital rubella infections in the newborn.

Abortion, Therapeutic↗