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Immunodeficiency associated with selective loss of helper/inducer T cells and hypogammaglobulinaemia in a child with intestinal lymphangiectasia.

A patient with intestinal lymphangiectasia (IL) was studied for his immunological abnormalities. The patient had hypoproteinaemia with severe hypogammaglobulinaemia. The results of lymphocyte subpopulation studies revealed a decrease of CD4+ cells and a decrease of surface immunoglobulin (sIg)-positive B lymphocytes. T cell functions determined by the proliferative responses against Concanavalin A (Con A) or phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) and by delayed type cutaneous hypersensitivity (DTH) response to purified protein derivatives (PPD) and PHA were normal. No immunoglobulin (Ig)-secreting cells were induced when his peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) were cultured with pokeweed mitogen (PWM). His T cells showed suppressor function to the PWM-induced differentiation of normal B cells. This suppressor activity was sensitive to 3000 rads irradiation. His B cells also failed to differentiate into Ig-producing cells with the help of normal T cells and PWM. Thus, in this patient, the decrease of Ig-synthesis in vitro could be attributed to suppressor T cells, lack of T helper cells and an intrinsic B cell defect. Therefore, this patient appears to have immunological abnormalities which differ from previously reported IL patients.

Agammaglobulinemia↗

[Long-term followup of primary intestinal lymphangiectasia in the child. Six case reports].

UNLABELLED: Primary intestinal lymphangiectasia induce symptoms of protein-losing gastroenteropathy. Only very few studies evaluate the long term follow up of such patients. We reviewed six children diagnosed at 17 +/- 12 months and followed for 11 +/- 4.9 years. CASE REPORTS: As soon as the diagnosis was made the patients were submitted to a strict low fat diet with added medium chain triglycerides and intermittent liposoluble vitamins perfusions. The diet allowed the disappearance of symptoms for all the patients but laboratory findings indicated continuing chyle leak for most of the children. Only one child who had normal biological parameters tolerates a normal diet since four years. Relaxation of the diet by two patients who had moderate hypoalbuminemia and lymphopenia led to severe clinical relapses 14 and 17 years after the diagnosis period with therapeutic difficulties. Three patients with long term strict low fat diet remain asymptomatic. CONCLUSION: In most asymptomatic patients, the underlying lymphatic defect remains with permanent biological abnormalities. Clinical relapses may be severe and difficult to treat; thus the need for dietary treatment appears to be permanent.

Adolescent↗

Cytogenetic studies of a male with sporadic intestinal lymphangiectasia: 45,X/46,XY mosaicism with pseudo- and hyperdiploid subpopulations in cultured tissues.

45,X/46,XY mosaicism was found in peripheral blood, bone marrow, and tissue cultures of an adult male with intestinal lymphangiectasia (IL). Turner phenotype was not present; his meiotic metaphase analysis was normak, and his dermatoglyphics resembled those of his family. Ten separate tissue culture lines from three biopsies of skin and thyroid gland contained 45,X cells (14.8 to 78.3%). Autosomal aneuploidy, resulting in pseudo- or hyperdiploidy, was also present in 4.3 to 41.6% of the cells. A hyperdiploid clone with a 47,X,+10,+18 karyotype was found in 22.6% of cells in one line. A second hyperdiploid clone with a 48,X,+2,+18,+18 karyotype occurred in 7.6% of cells from another line containing a total of 41.6% pseudo- and hyperdiploid cells. Such clonal abnormalities were not typical of tissue cultures from other patients done in our laboratory. Growth of our patient's tissue cultures was subnormal, and none proliferated beyond the fourth subculture. The significance of this observation remains to be determined. Our results do not allow us to conclude whether our patient's mosaicism of somatic tissues arose during embryogenesis, or whether it originated post-natally. The secondary immunodeficiency which occurs in IL may explain persistence of cells with unusual combinations of autosomal aneuploidy in our patient's tissues.

Adult↗

Intestinal lymphangiectasia and bilateral pleural effusions: effect of dietary therapy and surgical intervention on immunologic and pulmonary parameters.

This article describes the immunologic and pulmonary abnormalities and the chemical composition of pleural effusion fluid in a patient with intestinal lymphangiectasia as they are effected by therapeutic measures during a 7-year period. Lymphedema was first noticed in the patient at 3 years of age, and pleural effusions developed 7 years later. Thoracentesis demonstrated that the right pleural fluid was yellow, clear, and had the composition of lymph. The left pleural fluid was milky and had a higher triglyceride and lymphocyte content than the right pleural fluid. Complete removal of pleural fluid transiently increased total lung capacity to a maximum of 52% predicted. Strict dietary management with a low-fat and high-protein diet resulted in a transient partial reversal of circulating lymphopenia and low T cell concentration. This was accompanied by a decrease in lymphocyte and T cell concentration in the pleural fluid. Unstimulated mononuclear cells from pleural fluid synthesized increased amounts of DNA, and added mitogens or antigens further increased DNA synthesis. Dietary therapy had a minimal effect on this DNA synthesis. Despite circulating hypogammaglobulinemia, normal antibody activity was detected. The proportion of B cells in pleural fluid was greater than that in the circulation, and dietary therapy did not alter this difference. Pulmonary physiology improved during the initial 9-month period of diet therapy, but then the rate of fluid accumulation increased, causing respiratory compromise. Stability was achieved by a right-sided pleurodesis, followed 18 months later by a left pleurodesis with the addition of a shunt to provide internal lymph drainage.

Adolescent↗

Intestinal lymphangiectasia and thymic hypoplasia.

We have evaluated the immunological abnormalities present in a 6 year old patient with primary intestinal and generalized lymphangiectasia confirmed by intestinal, lung and lymph node biopsies. Lymphocyte loss through the gut was confirmed by the detection of lymphocytes in her stool. An increased enteric protein loss was suggested by hypoproteinaemia, peripheral oedema, and a very short half-life for i.v. immune serum globulin (3 days). Lymphocyte subpopulation analysis revealed a selective loss of T lymphocytes, with a proportionally increased loss of the OKT4 positive helper/inducer subpopulation. Functionally, there was a decrease in proliferative responses to some mitogens and to allogeneic cells, and a lack of T cell help for in vitro B lymphocyte differentiation into immunoglobulin secreting cells. Natural killer function was normal. In this patient, a concomitant thymic deficiency was documented by failure to identify thymic tissue on a thymus biopsy and by an absence or decrease of the serum thymic factor (thymulin) and thymosin alpha 1. No compensatory lymphopoiesis was detected in the bone marrow. In an attempt to increase T lymphocyte development, the patient was treated with thymosin fraction 5. Daily treatment with this preparation resulted in a transient clinical improvement which could not be sustained on a weekly thymosin treatment schedule. However, lymphocyte numbers did not increase during this treatment. The findings in this patient support the notion that T lymphocytes are needed to stimulate thymic epithelium. In situations of excessive loss of long lived T lymphocytes a secondary thymic atrophy may occur and further contribute to the development of a deficiency in cell-mediated immunity.

Child↗

Two cases of Winchester syndrome: with increased urinary oligosaccharide excretion.

We present our findings in two unrelated patients with the characteristic clinical and radiological features of the Winchester syndrome. The histological findings in gum and skin biopsies taken from one of the subjects, indicated excessive collagen turnover (active phagocytosis, an active endoplasmic reticulum, and an abundance of fibrillogranular material of probable collagen origin). An abnormal oligosaccharide was detected in urine from both patients which was identified as a trisaccharide containing one fucose and two galactose residues. The finding of this oligosaccharide may prove a useful marker in other cases of this rare syndrome and may help elucidate the underlying biochemical defect.

Child↗

Unusual vascular dysplasia presenting as an intra-abdominal catastrophe.

A case of severe, generalised vascular dysplasia presenting as an intra-abdominal catastrophe is reported. Associated clinical features included cutis marmorata telangiectatica congenita, congenital glaucoma, hypertension, and focal fits. The case has been reported in view of its rarity and nature of presentation.

Abdominal Pain↗

Primary immunodeficiency or not? Making the correct diagnosis.

Making a correct diagnosis of a primary immunodeficiency disease is crucial for the selection of proper therapy. Although many cases go undiagnosed, there are also many instances of incorrect diagnosis that result in years of inappropriate treatment and failure to implement beneficial treatment. This article summarizes 2 actual cases in which incorrect diagnoses led to recommendations of unwarranted high-risk or costly treatments. Had the physicians chosen tests of immune function rather than relying on immunoglobulin levels or cell counts, they would have arrived at the true diagnoses.

Adolescent↗

[A special case of swollen lower limb].

We report on a case of a 31-year-old patient suffering from long-standing peripheral edema with severe hypoalbuminemia, but without proteinuria. Differential diagnosis, diagnostic work-up and the therapeutic options in this unusual case are discussed. The general practitioner must keep in mind a broad range of causes when seeing every-day-patients with peripheral edema, although the correct etiology can be found easily in most cases.

Adult↗

Ultrastructure of intestinal lymphatics in Crohn's disease.

The fine structure of intestinal lymphatics in four patients with Crohn's disease and in two control subjects is described. Although obstructed lacteals are considered to be of major importance in the pathogenesis of regional enteritis, no detailed electron microscopic studies of lymphatic capillaries in this disease could be found. Even though both open and closed intercellular junctions were observed in the normal intestinal lymphatics, only closed junctions were noted in the mucosal and submucosal lymphatic capillaries in patients with regional enteritis. A heavy accumulation of protein rich lymph at the abluminal surface of lymphatic capillaries was consistently seen. None of the control lymphatics showed a similar alteration. The described fine structural changes indicate a decreased permeability of the lymphatic wall. Reduced lymphatic permeability could be a contributing element in the development of submucosal edema, a major microscopic feature of Crohn's disease.

Adult↗