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Biomedical subjects

H Rappaport

Publications and source records attributed to H Rappaport.

34 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Effect of levamisole on malignant experimental neurinoma grown subcutaneously in a young rat: brief communication.

Levamisole, a drug that stimulates the immunologic defenses of the host, was tested on the experimental malignant neurinoma grown subcutaneously in young female inbred CDF rats in 3-month trial. The drug resulted in prevention of tumor growth in 80% of the treated animals, whereas tumors grew in 100% of the controls. After discontinuation of the drug, none of the animals in the treated group showed evidence of tumor growth upon clinical and pathologic examination 1 month after drug treatment was terminated. Treated animals failed to show any side effects related to levamisole upon clinical and pathologic examination.

Animals

Effect of levamisole on malignant experimental neurinoma grown subcutaneously in a young rat: brief communication.

Levamisole, a drug that stimulates the immunologic defenses of the host, was tested on the experimental malignant neurinoma grown subcutaneously in young female inbred CDF rats in a 3-month trial. The drug resulted in prevention of tumor growth in 80% of the treated animals, whereas tumors grew in 100% of the controls. After discontinuation of the drug, none of the animals in the treated group showed evidence of tumor growth upon clinical and pathologic examination 1 month after drug treatment was terminated. Treated animals failed to show any side effects related to levamisole upon clinical and pathologic examination.

Animals

The effects of certain immunity systemic advuvants, PHA, and human gamma globulin on the thymic cortex of mice: a light and electron microscope study.

Thymus of (C57Bl/6 x DBA/2) F1 mice was examined histologically, histochemically and ultrastructurally, seven days after intravenous injection of BCG, pertussis vaccine, lipopolysaccharide or human gamma globulin, or intraperitoneal injection of complete or incomplete Freund's adjuvants or of phytohemagglutinin. Only BCG induced a marked increase of the secretory activity of the thymic epithelium at all histological sites (cortex, corticomedullary junction and medullar). Only with this adjuvant was the epithelial hyperplasia associated with marked mitotic activity and high percentage of cells with cytoplasmic pyroninophilia among cortical lymphoid cells. The other substances tested produced different changes in the thymic epithelial cells according to the histologic zones. These results suggest that the epithelial cells of the cortex, the corticomedullary junction and the medulla respond differently to the agents tested and that the action of these substances upon thymus-dependent lymphoid cells may be indirect perhaps involving factors secreted by the epithelial cells.

Adjuvants, Immunologic

Hairy cell leukemia (leukemic reticuloendotheliosis) II. Ultrastructure of the spleen.

Seven surgically removed spleens from patients with hairy cell leukemia and hypersplenism were examined ultrastructurally. In all spleens the pulp cords were diffusely and compactly infiltrated by hairy cells. Numerous hairy cells were also evident in the often distended sinuses. The hairy projections were readily visible in electron micrographs and tended to interdigitate to form syncytium-like aggregates. Compression of hairy cells within the cords flattened the projections against the cell bodies and may account for the surface alterations reported by scanning electron microscopic studies. Controversy over the cytogenesis of hairy cells has not been resolved by ultrastructural studies. Although all seven patients had hypersplenism, the hairy cells showed no evidence of phagocytic activity. However, active phagocytosis by cordal macrophages was observed and there is a probable absolute increase in their number contributing to the splenomegaly. The dense infiltrate of hairy cells causes marked widening of the cords and retards the passage of formed elements of the blood through the red pulp. Prolonged sojourn of these elements in a metabolically unfavorable environment results in cellular damage, increased exposure to cordal macrophages, and premature destruction with the evolution of a hypersplenic syndrome.

Humans

Malignant lymphoma, lymphoblastic.

Among the malignant lymphomas of the diffuse, poorly differentiated lymphocytic type, a cytologically distinctive form can be recognized. It is composed of immature lymphoid cells that are indistinguishable from the cells of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Although these neoplasms usually have been classified as malignant lymphoma, lymphoblastic type, they contain, in addition to lymphoblasts, prolymphocytes in varying proportions. On the basis of the nuclear morphology, malignant lymphoma of the lymphoblastic type, (MLLB) can be further divided into those with and those without convoluted nuclei. In our series both groups had the following clinical features in common: 1) frequent occurrence in children and adolescents; 2) clinical presentation with mediastinal masses in 50% of cases; 3) a high incidence of bone marrow and perpheral blood involvement during the course of the disease; and 4) rapid progression of the disease with a median survival of 8 months. Our observations indicate that nuclear convolutions are helpful but not essential for the recognition of a clinicopathologic entity which is histologically and cytologically characterized by 1) the immaturity of the lymphoid cells indistinguishable from the lymphoblasts and prolymphocytes of ALL and 2) a high mitotic index. Because of the frequency with which MLLB progresses into ALL, systemic therapy may be indicated even before this progression is hematologically evident. This indicates the need for morphologic recognition of this malignant lymphoma regardless of the presence of nuclear convolution, age of the patient, and site of presentation.

Acute Disease

The pathologic anatomy of alpha chain disease.

alpha CD is an immunoproliferative disorder which is most frequently, but not always, associated with the disease entity referred to as Mediterranean lymphoma with malabsorption. In most cases, the evolution of the disease and its morbid anatomy suggests an immune deficiency state in which an abnormal clone of intestinal plasma cells incapable of producing the complete IgA molecule proliferates, perhaps in response to microbial antigenic stimulation. In the majority of cases, this proliferation is composed of mature appearing plasma cells which lack morphologic features of malignancy. Although possibly reversible, this proliferation appears to be highly susceptible to the evolution of secondary neoplastic clones, which appear in most instances after a clinical course of unpredictable duration and manifest themselves in the form of single or multiple immunoblastic sarcomas.

Heavy Chain Disease

Malignant histiocytosis with massive splenomegaly in asymptomatic patients. A possible chronic form of the disease.

Four patients with malignant histiocytosis (MH) are described whose initial manifestation of the disease was massive splenomegaly without associated systemic symptoms. The diagnosis of MH was made after histologic evaluation of splenectomy specimens. Splenomegaly in an otherwise asymptomatic patient is unusual for malignant histiocytosis, but when such a clinical picture is seen, it may be confused with other diseases that often present with massive splenomegaly and that have a similar diffuse infiltrative pattern in the spleen. Although three of these patients did eventually develop systemic symptoms characteristic of MH 3, 6, and 10 months after the detection of splenomegaly, the 15-month asymptomatic survival of one patient who received no chemotherapy suggests that MH presenting with massive splenomegaly, rather than with constitutional symptoms, may have a protracted course.

Abdomen

Late systolic murmur of rheumatic mitral insufficiency.

Of 184 patients with acute rheumatic fever and associated mitral insufficiency encountered during a 15 year period, 34 manifested a mid-late systolic murmur or a nonejection click, or both, during the course of follow-up. The mid-late systolic murmur later disappeared in four patients whose condition is now considered normal. In one of the four, systolic prolapse of the mitral valve was demonstrated on an angiocardiogram obtained when the systolic murmur was present. Since disappearance of the murmur there has been no evidence of systolic prolapse on meticulous echocardiographic study of the mitral valve. In another child with angiographically demonstrated systolic prolapse of the mitral valve the systolic murmur has also disappeared, but systolic prolapse is still evident on echocardiographic study. None of the 34 patients with a mid-late systolic murmur manifested the T wave abnormalities commonly associated with the familial variety of mitral valve prolapse.

Acute Disease

Angio-immunoblastic lymphadenopathy. Diagnosis and clinical course.

The clinical and pathologic findings in 24 patients with "angio-immunoblastic lymphadenopathy with dysproteinemia" (AILD) are presented. The patients' ages ranged from 44 to 80 years, with a median age of 68 years. The disease has an acute onset. In many respects, the clinical presentation is suggestive of malignant lymphoma. Generalized lymphadenopathy was always present. Hepatomegaly was found in 20 patients, splenomegaly in 17, constitutional symptoms in 20 and skin rashes in nine. Twenty patients had anemia, with positive Coombs' test in eight of 14 tested. Polyclonal hypergammaglobulinemia was found in 17 of 22 patients. Two patterns of evolution were recognizable: (1) long survival (24 to 67 months) without treatment or after the administration of intensive combination chemotherapy; and (2) rapid progression (one to 19 months) regardless of the treatment given. Sixteen patients died; postmortem examination in 10 cases showed the cause of death to be attributable to severe infection in eight patients, to renal disease in one and to cardiovascular disease in one. No evidence of malignant lymphoma was seen in any of these autopsies. Histologically, the disease is systemic, with specific lesions in the lymph nodes. The spleen, liver, bone marrow, skin and lung are also involved, but the changes are less characteristic than in the lymph nodes. In the patients in whom sequential biopsies were performed, a trend toward restoration of the nodal architecture was observed. AILD is a clinical-pathologic entity in a spectrum of yet to be defined immune reactions. The clinical, laboratory and pathologic manifestations of AILD are consistent with an autoimmune disorder, in which a deficiency of the T-cell regulatory functions probably predisposes to an abnormal proliferative and autoaggressive reaction of the B-cell system. Surgical staging procedures do not appear to be indicated. Intensive cytotoxic treatment may be hazardous in some patients, precipitating their death, but long survival after such therapy has been observed in others. Supportive therapy and small doses of steroids appear to be a safer therapeutic approach.

Adult

Evaluation of the specificity of a lymphoid chalone.

An extract from calf spleens, injected into mice, was found to inhibit their lymphocyte proliferative response to PHA-M and PWM in vitro. Despite the ability of the spleen extract to inhibit the response of lymphocytes to stimuli in vitro, no effect was observed on the repopulation of lymphocytes in the peripheral blood of sublethally irradiated mice. The data suggest that the spleen extract acts as a specific inhibitor of the innume competent cells since neither the precursors of lymphocytes nor other haematopoietic cells were affected.

Animals

Staging laparotomy in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

In 57 patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a clinical, radiographic, scintigraphic and pathological correlative study showed the following results: (1) the inferior venacavagram, lymphangiogram and gallium-67 scan have a low sensitivity in detecting lymphoma: their accuracy is high when the findings are interpreted as abnormal (93%, 83% and 80% respectively), but low when they are interpreted as normal (47%, 67% and 58% respectively); (2) the clinical evaluation of spleen and liver is unreliable; (3) the incidence of lymphocytic lymphoma in the para-aortic-iliac nodes is high; (4) a pattern of involvement by contiguity and a predilection for the spleen were observed in lymphocytic lymphoma; (5) in lymphocytic lymphoma there is no liver involve without concomitant splenic involvement; (6) no definite pattern of spread could be seen in histiocytic lymphoma; (7) surgical staging changed the classification of the lymphoma in 56% of cases, 46% being reclassified to a more advanced stage; (8) surgical staging significantly improves the assessment of the stage of disease and therefore permits accurate treatment planning.

Adolescent

Histologic reactions of the thymus, spleen, liver and lymph nodes to intravenous and subcutaneous BCG injections.

The tissue reactions of non-tumor-bearing F1 (DBA/2 X C57B16) mice to i.v. and s.c. injected BCG were studied in animals sacrificed at planned intervals following the injection. No appreciable changes were observed prior to day 6, when the thymic cortex and medulla began to show hyperplasia of epithelial cells; many of them had PAS positive cytoplasm and some of these cells were contiguous with the walls of small blood vessels and large cystic spaces containing PAS-positive secretions. The thymic cortical lymphocytes showed, on day 6, a pronounced pyroninophilia and increased mitotic activity without increase in thymic weight. These changes were considerably more striking in the i.v. than in the s.c. injected animals. On the same day a pronounced multifocal lymphocytic infiltration involving the red pulp and the parafollicular and periarteriolar zones of the spleen were observed. It was more pronounced in the i.v. than in the s.c. injected animals. The thymic changes were seen only in animals killed on day 6 and day 10, but were no longer observed on day 14. Beginning with day 14 a pronounced histiocytic granulomatous reaction was observed in the liver. On day 18, this granulomatous reaction was also seen in the spleen, lymph nodes, and lungs of i.v. injected animals. It persisted until day 45. In the s.c. injected animals histiocytic granulomas were seen only at the site of injection and in the regional lymph nodes.

Animals