LuisO. Carreras

LUPUS ANTICOAGULANT AND RECURRENT FETAL LOSS: SUCCESSFUL TREATMENT WITH GAMMAGLOBULIN

SIR,-Dr Martyn and colleagues (June 11, p 1319) suggest that motoneuron disease (MND) is a rare and delayed consequence of an infection with poliovirus. The role of poliovirus in the aetiology of MND remains equivocal’ because of the problems associated with prospective case-control studies and lack of laboratory proof of poliovirus infection in cases of MND. Poliomyelitis is very common in India but the incidence of MND does not seem to be higher than elsewhere. Although exact population-based data are lacking, surveys of residual paralysis due

Attempts to make sense of the antiphospholipid syndrome

Many investigators have been intrigued by the paradoxical association of a circulating anticoagulant, first called lupus anticoagulant by Feinstein and Rapaport [ 1 ], with a tendency to develop thrombosis, as initially described by Walter Bowie [ 2 ]. Work in Leuven on this topic started when Luis Carreras, an Argentinian hematologist, joined the laboratory of blood coagulation at this university in 1979. At that time, the head of the laboratory was Marc Verstraete. Luis had a particular interest in antibody‐mediated coagulation disorders, and had prepared reviews on thrombosis and thrombocytopenia induced by heparin [ 3 ] and on the lupus inhibitor [ 4 ]. In Leuven, he joined Jos Vermylen, senior member of the laboratory, and an internist with particular interest in hemostasis, thrombosis and vascular disease. As such, Professor Vermylen was involved in both laboratory research and patient care.

Low prostacyclin synthetase activity of fetal rat aorta. Progressive increase after birth

Aortae from fetal or 3 weeks old rats produced very small amounts of PGI2, prostacyclin. This production increased from 4 weeks on, reaching adult values at about ten weeks. This maturation seemed to be predominantly determined by a change in the PGI2 synthetase system, rather than in arachidonic acid availability, phospholipase or cyclo-oxygenase activity. The anti-oxidant ascorbic acid stimulated prostacyclin production more strongly in adult than in young rat aortae. This finding suggests that the lower production of PGI2 by young tissues is not due to an enhanced inhibition of prostacyclin synthetase by lipid peroxides.