Tachio Kobayashi

Studies on Type-Specific Streptococcal Antibody in Rheumatic Heart Disease

A N intimate, causal relationship between streptococcal infection and rheumatic heart disease has been evidenced from many standpoints of view,1)-3) but the problem is not yet completely resolved. Therefore, we have felt it worthwhile to investigate this relationship serologically. We have especially studied type-specific streptococcal antibody, which is rarely studied, due to difficulty in its measurement, in spite of its immunologic importance. This communication reports fundamental experiments which demonstrate the type-specificity of the hemagglutination technique in the measurement of type-specific antibody, and also the results of clinical investigations in rheumatic heart disease with other diseases as controls.