Kiyoshi Kagami

ADULT T-CELL LEUKEMIA ASSOCIATED WITH HERPES VIRUS INFECTION-: ULTRASTRUCTURE OF INFILTRATED CELLS WITH VIRUS PARTICLES

Adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) was differentiated from chronic lymphatic leukemia by Takatsuki et al. (1-3). ATL has characteristic clinical features and hematological findings. Skin manifestations in ATL are high in frequency and leukemic cells have been shown to easily infiltrate into the skin (3, 4). It is wellknown that patients with ATL occur frequently in the southwest districts ofJapan. We report here the ultrastructure of skin lesions of ATL ascociated with disseminated herpes virus infection.

A SEMIQUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF SKIN SENSITIVITY CHANGES IN HERPES ZOSTER

We have investigated changes in skin sensation in patients affected with Herpes zoster, by comparing the threshold of electric stimulation pain at the lesion site with that at the symmetrical healthy site. The threshold at the lesion was lower than that at the healthy site and had a tendency to recover to normal day by day. When continuous and spontaneous pain were combined, the threshold at the lesion was rather higher, probably due to a kind of masking. The change in threshold during the recovery process is not correlated with the seriousness of this disease.

COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE SENSITIVITY OF HERPES SIMPLEX VIRUS TYPES 1 AND 2 TO HUMAN LEUKOCYTE INTERFERON IN VITRO

In order to examine the sensitivity of Herpes simplex virus (HSV) types 1 and 2 (nine strains were used) to human leukocyte interferon (HL‐IF), human embryonic fibroblast (HEF) cultures were treated with 1 times 104 IU of HL‐IF 24 hrs before each HSV was inoculated. Forty‐eight and seventy‐two hours after incubation at 37°C in a 5% CO2 atmosphere, cytopathogenic effect (CPE) or giant cell formation by HSV was observed. The TCID50 in control cultures was compared with that in IF‐treated cultures. Although HL‐IF could protect cell culture against HSV infection, no differences in sensitivity between the two types of HSV or among the nine strains of HSV to HL‐IF were recognized.

Electron microscopic observations on the lesions of herpes zoster with topical application of interferon.

The lesions of herpes zoster in three patients were investigated electron microscopically before and after topical application of interferon.