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Biomedical subjects

L Secher

Publications and source records attributed to L Secher.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

Immunofluorescence of the skin in allergic diseases: an investigation of patients with contact dermatitis, allergic vasculitis and atopic dermatitis.

Skin biopsies for immunofluorescent studies were taken from patients with contact dermatitis (positive patch tests), atopic dermatitis and allergic vasculitis for comparison with normal-appearing skin from the same patients, and from healthy controls. A variety of deposits of immunoglobulins, complement components and fibrinogen were demonstrated in 6 out of 20 patients with contact dermatitis, 7 out of 10 with atopic dermatitis, 8 out of 10 with allergic vasculitis, and in 4 out of 20 control individuals. No diagnostic pattern of deposits was found. Elevated serum IgE and eosinophilic counts were found in patients with atopic dermatitis, and high serum IgA and fibrinogen levels were found in the allergic vasculitis group.

Adolescent

Levamisole-induced hypersensitivity.

A 73-year-old woman with rheumatoid arthritis was treated with Levamisole, 150 mg per day, on 2 days a week. Her arthritis improved, but she developed a severely itching rash, and the treatment was stopped after 6 months. Penicillamine was subsequently given and tolerated without skin complications. 15 months after regular Levamisole was stopped, she was given a single dose of 150 mg which provoked fever of 40 degrees C and rash. Thirteen punch-biopsy specimens were examined by direct immunofluorescence microscopy. During the Levamisole treatment, granular deposits of IgG and C3 were found at the dermal--epidermal junction. Subsequently, the deposits disappeared, but reappeared after Levamisole challenge. The patient's leukocytes were exposed in vitro to Levamisole, and 36% of the total histamine content in the basophils was released. Our results provide further evidence that Levamisole can cause type-I as well as type-III hypersensitivity.

Aged

T and B lymphocytes in contact and atopic dermatitis.

Twenty patients with contact dermatitis, eighteen with atopic dermatitis, two with mixed dermatitis, and 20 controls were examined for the number of T and B lymphocytes, and serum concentrations of IgD and IgE. Significantly higher counts of B lymphocytes bearing IgE and high serum IgE values were found in the atopic group. No other significant differences were found. In particular, we found a normal frequency of IgD bearing lymphocytes in contact dermatitis, and normal T lymphocyte counts in both groups of patients.

Adolescent

Auto-immunity in certain thyroid diseases.

In the years 1971-74, 88 patients were admitted to the Department of Otorhinolaryngology of the Finsen Institute because of thyroid disease. In 37 of these patients, who had also been tested for antibodies against the thyroid, the diagnosis was confirmed histologically. The existence of circulating antibodies against thyroid tissue was found to reflect the degree of lymphocyte infiltration in the thyroid gland, and is thus of significance in the evaluation of the patients' prognosis and potential risk at surgery.

Autoantibodies