Norihiro Ueno

Chemiluminescence of whole blood: 1. A simple and rapid method for the estimation of phagocytic function of granulocytes and opsonic activity in whole blood

Luminol-dependent chemiluminescence of whole blood (whole blood CL) was developed to estimate the phagocytic function of granulocytes and the serum opsonic activity simultaneously. Whole blood (0.1 ml) was examined directly and results were obtained within 20 minutes. Phagocytic function of granulocytes can be estimated from the peak CL of whole blood and the number of granulocytes in a specimen, and the opsonic activity from the amount of time the peak CL is shown after the addition of nonopsonized CL inducer. Thus this method, using several types of CL inducer, offers much information concerning the functions of the phagocytic system in whole blood.

Chemiluminescence of whole blood: II. Application to clinical examination of phagocytic functions of whole blood from various types of disease

Measurements of whole blood chemiluminescence (CL) were carried out by using 0.1 ml of blood to evaluate phagocytic functions from various kinds of pediatric patients. Patients with definite bacterial infections showed an elevated background CL and high peak CL per 1000 granulocytes after stimulation with zymosan. These results suggest that granulocytes of these patients had been preactivated in vivo, their phagocytic and/or metabolic activity being enhanced. Contrary to these results, blood from the patients with viral infections showed almost no abnormalities. Patients with chronic granulomatous disease showed no significant CL by this method similar to conventional ones. This method was also shown to be a useful technique for monitoring the phagocytic functions of blood after granulocyte transfusion.

A Case of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis Septicemia Accompanied by a Large Abdominal Tumor

A 2-year-old girl with Yersinia pseudotuberculosis septicemia had a large abdominal mass that had to be differentiated from malignant tumor. The mass disappeared rapidly with antibiotic therapy and was defined to be a cluster of enlarged ileocecal lymph nodes by the clinical course and the findings at ultrasonic examination and Gallium scintigraphy.

Chromosomal Analysis of Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: As a Routine Examination for Diagnosis and Prognosis

Chromosomal analysis was performed as a routine examination for diagnostic and prognostic evaluation of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in six cases encountered during a one‐year period. The results obtained are as follows. 1. Chromosomal abnormality of leukemic cells was observed in five out of six cases (approximately 80%). 2. Translocation 4; 11 or 14q+, which are known as a risk factor of ALL, were observed in three patients. Two of three patients died within six months of the onset of disease. One case was diagnosed as congenital leukemia with remarkable leukocytosis, and the other case was accompanied by hypereosinophilic syndrome. The remaining one patient, who is now in complete remission, is 13 years old, which is within the period of risk ages exceeding 10 years of age. 3. The case with 1q+ had no risk factor; however, he had a relapse 19 months after the diagnosis. Thus this particular chromosomal rearrangement appeared to be one of the risk factors. 4. The case with 6q‐, which has been reported to have a good prognosis in some cases of ALL, has no risk factor, and has been in complete remission. These results seem to confirm the usefulness of chromosomal analysis for the evaluation of the clinical course of ALL.