Nicholas Matsaniotis

Skin hypersensitivity and in vitro lymphocytic reactivity to tuberculin in childhood

The mitogenic effect of old tuberculin was studied in cultures of peripheral lymphocytes from 113 children with a negative delayed dermal hypersensitivity reaction to tuberculin and from 30 children with a positive dermal reaction. A significant number of cells in mitosis was seen in (a) 23 of 100 randomly chosen children and 11 of 13 BCG vaccinated children in the absence of delayed dermal hypersensitivity to tuberculin, (b) 18 of 20 children with a positive dermal reaction but no history of active tuberculosis, of healing tuberculosis, or of a history BCG vaccination, and (c) 4 of 10 children with active tuberculosis. It is suggested that the in vitro lymphocytic response to tuberculin may be useful in detecting sensitization not expressed by delayed skin hypersensitivity.

Urinary free proline and collagen metabolites in newborns, healthy children, and in collagen diseases

Abstract The urinary output of free and peptide-bound imino acids was studied in 41 newborns and 48 children aged 3–14 years; 20 of these latter suffered from various collagen diseases. Quantitative data about free urinary proline are given. The relationship between free and total urinary proline as well as hydroxyproline and plasma proline was studied. The urinary output of total and free imino acids was increased from the 1st through the 15th day of life. There was a significant decrease in the urinary output of both free and total imino acids in children with collagen disease, though plasma proline levels were normal.

Haptoglobulin and α2-macroglobulin levels in children with rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract Haptoglobulin was raised and α 2 -macroglobulin was low in 25 children with clinical findings compatible with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis compared with 25 healthy children of comparable age. Patients and normal children showed considerable individual variations in serum α 2 -macroglobulins but the mean value of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis group was lower than that of normal, the difference being statistically highly significant. Haptoglobulins on the other hand were considerably higher with a mean value three times higher than normal. The elevation of serum haptoglobulins may prove to be helpful in establishing the diagnosis of not conclusive cases especially those of septicaemic type in which haptoglobulins were invariably highly increased.

Studies on protein metabolism in undernourished infants and children.

T HE incidence of severe undernutrition in infancy continues, unfortunately, to be high in many countries throughout the world even today. The type of nndernutrition encountered in Greece after World War II is usually characterized by freedom from edema and from major manifestations of avitaminosis. In the great majority of cases (96.9 per cent) the undernutrition is simply due to insufficient food intake. 1 The purpose of this paper is to study the proteolytie activity of the gastrointestinal t ract and the rate of absorption of amino acids, as well as the rate of their disappearance from the plasma in undernourished infants and children. Our approach to this problem has been to determine serially the plasma level of amino nitrogen (amino-N) following (1~) the ingestion of casein, (2)) the ingestion of casein hydrolysate, and (3) the intravenous injection of casein hydrolysate. It is evident that the serial determination of the level of the amino-N in plasma following the ingestion of whole protein actually refleCtS the proteolytic activity in the gastrointestinal tract, provided that the absorption of the resultant amino acids through the intestinal mueosa, as well as their fate