Tore Mellbin

IMMUNOGLOBULIN LEVELS IN ETHIOPIAN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO HIGH CONCENTRATIONS OF IMMUNOGLOBULIN E (IgND)

Abstract The immunoglobulins G, A, M, and D were determined in three series of Ethiopian preschool children. The levels of IgG and IgD were significantly higher than those found in a group of Swedish children of the same age; the mean levels of IgD being five to six times higher than in the Swedish series. The concentrations of the new immunoglobulin class, IgE, were also studied. The levels of IgE were between sixteen and twenty times higher than in Swedish children, and in a group with verified infection with Ascaris lumbricoides the level was twenty-eight times higher. These findings favour the hypothesis that parasitic infestations are important factors in stimulating IgE production.

THE ANTIBODY PATTERN IN REPRESENTATIVE GROUPS OF ETHIOPIAN VILLAGE CHILDREN

As a part of the comprehensive program of investigation which is being conducted by the Childrens Nutrition Unit in Ethiopia, it was considered essential to determine the incidence of antibodies to a number of important pathogens, in order to obtain an idea of the previous disease history and present state of immunity of the children. The material comprised sera fram 525 children of ages 5–11 years from those localities in which the project has established field activities.

Predictive Value of a Combined Health Score at Four Years with Respect to Behavioral and Learning Problems at Age Ten

A program of comprehensive health screening of 4-year-olds was introduced in Sweden in 1968, and rapidly expanded until 95% of all 4-year-olds in the country are screened today (Socialstyrelsen, 1968, 1979). The steps in the screening program are presented in Table 1 (Sundelin & Vuille, 1975b).

Systematische Impfung mit kombiniertem Impfstoff (Diphtherie, Tetanus, Pertussis) im Säuglingsalter. Serologische und klinische Studien

ZusammenfassungDie Verfasser legen das Ergebnis der Impfung bei Säuglingen mit einem kombinierten Impfstoff (Diphtherie, Pertussis, Tetanus) vor.Serologisch wurden 366 Kinder untersucht, von denen 325 3 Injektionen von je 1 ml und 41 2 Injektionen von je 1 ml Impfstoff mit Beginn im Alter von 3 Monaten erhalten hatten. Bei dreimaliger Verabreichung des Impfstoffs war das serologische Ergebnis, das etwa 3–6 Wochen nach der letzten Impfung festgestellt wurde, besonders befriedigend (mit dem Vaccine Nr. 5, das in 185 Fällen gegeben wurde, zeigten 91% der Kinder einen Diphtherie-Titer von 0,50 E oder mehr je Milliliter und 94% einen Keuchhustentiter von 1/320 oder mehr. Bei nur zweimaliger Verabreichung war das Ergebnis weniger zufriedenstellend (54% Diphtherie-Titer ⪚0,50 E/ml, 54% Keuchhustentiter ⪚1/320).In einer klinischen Untersuchung wurde die Häufigkeit der Erkrankung an Keuchhusten bei 315 geimpften Kindern mit der von 289 nichtgeimpften Kontrollen während einer Zeitspanne von 5 Jahren verglichen. Über die Grundimmunisierung mit 3 Injektionen hinaus hatten 24% der Kinder eine 4. Injektion erhalten. Die Zahl der Erkrankungsfälle je 1000 Beobachtungsmonate war bei den Geimpften 0,57 gegen 4,56 bei den Kontrollkindern, was also einem Verhältnis von 1:8 entspricht.Von besonderer Bedeutung ist es, daß selbst gegen Ende der 5jährigen Beobachtungszeit ein beträchtlicher Unterschied in der Erkrankungsfrequenz vorlag. Die bei den geimpften Kindern nur seltenen Erkrankungen waren fast ohne Ausnahme sehr leicht, während bei den Kontrollkindern viele Fälle von schwerem und mittelschwerem Keuchhusten auftraten.

Growing up in Uppsala. Part II. Could adolescents with severe psychosocial problems have been identified by symptoms observed in school at age 10 years

The study comprised all 1715 children born in 1965 and resident in Uppsala at age 10 and 18 years. Data were collected through teacher interviews and analysis of school health records in grade 3 at the age of 10 years. The psychosocial burden up to the age of 18 years was assessed on the basis of all registered contacts with official institutions outside school (authorities for care of the handicapped, Department of Child Psychiatry, social agencies, legal authorities). Approximately 12% of the adolescents were clearly in a situation of manifest psychosocial risk on the threshold of adult life. These adolescents were assigned to five mutually exclusive problem groups comprising different sex distribution, symptoms and utilization of institutional care. The analysis of the relationship between data from grade 3 and the psychosocial burden up to 18 years of age showed that the information available to the school did not permit reasonably secure predictions of the childs psychosocial situation at the end of adolescence. Observations in school of pre‐adolescent children cannot be used as a basis for risk‐group strategies aiming at concentrating early treatment measures and resources to a restricted number of children at risk. However, the prognosis is apparently serious for a limited number of 10‐year‐olds with serious problems in school.

Growing up in Uppsala. The role of public services in identification and treatment of health and adjustment problems. Part I. Definition and classification of dependent variables.

A comprehensive prospective longitudinal study of health, development and social adjustment from the age of four to 18 years has been carried out in Uppsala, Sweden. This report presents the accumulated psychosocial burden up to 18 years of age for all 1715 children born in 1965 and resident in Uppsala from age 10 to 18 years. The psychosocial burden up to 18 years of age was assessed through analysis of records and register information from school health services, authorities for care of the handicapped, the Department of Child Psychiatry, social agencies and legal authorities. The analysis showed that 11.8% of the adolescents had a severe psychosocial burden up to the age of 18 years which could hamper their future life as adults. It was possible to categorize the whole birth cohort into one subgroup without manifest psychosocial problems and five different subgroups with serious problems: the six groups (severe mental or physical handicap, antisocial behaviour, psychiatric problems, social support, multiple problems, “normal”) had specific profiles concerning sex distribution, symptoms, social background, utilization of care services and delinquency.

The bacterial flora of the upper respiratory tract and gut in children of nomad Lapps.

The nomad Lapps differ in certain respects from the rest of the population in Sweden. They are constantly on the move, following the reindeer herds high up into the mountain districts during the summer and down towards the coast in winter, and the families therefore have to have a t least two, and often more, dwelling places. During the summer these people are isolated in the mountains; in winter they usually live in small inland villages. Compared with the rest of the population, therefore, they are in most respects more isolated all the year round. This isolation has been reduced during recent years, especially in the southern regions, but in the most northerly districts it is still marked. Like other children in Sweden, the nomad children begin school a t 7 years of age. Owing to the great distances they go to boarding schools, where they are in close contact with each other, in contrast to the time before they start school and to the summer holidays. The contact that exists between the nomad school-children and the sedentary population varies in the different school

Sero-immune patterns for poliomyelitis and mumps in children of nomad Lapps.

The incidence of antibodies to poliomyelitis among different age-groups and populations has been the object of numerous investigations. These have been designed to elucidate the rising age a t which persons become affected by clinically manifest poliomyelitis as social standards improve, and, before introducing widespread immunization to the infection, to gain an impression of the incidence of spontaneously developing antibodies. It has been shown in many investigations carried out in tropical and subtropical regions [2-5, 8, 10, 13-15] by a variety of methods that the incidence of poliomyelitis antibodies is very high even at an early age. Paul & Horstmann [15] found antibodies to one type of poliomyelitis in 87-95 % of Casablanca children aged 5-9 years, and antibodies to all three types among 78%. The increase in antibodies commences immediately after the maternal antibodies disappear, which means that the virus is heavily distributed throughout the local community. Gajdusek, Rogers & Bankhead [3] reported similar findings among children of the same age group from the jungles of Bolivia and Peru: all 26 children whom they examined

Combined Immunization During the First Year of Life 1. Effect of 4-Vaccination (Polio, Whooping Cough, Diphtheria, Tetanus) at the Age of 3, 41/2, and 6 Months

per second, was utilized with the aid of a Philips 5-inch image intensifier. These experiments were performed on newborn cats, dogs and lambs ranging in age from 0 to 6 days. The ductus venosus was closed shortly after birth, but could be opened with epinephrine, nor-epinephrine and acetylcholine. Injection of normal saline had no effect. Up to the present time we have not found any drug which closes the ductus. In newborn infants the ductus has been found to be patent 12 days after birth. The size of the lumen has varied. (Hirvonen et al.) Reference: Hirvonen, L., Peltonen, T., and Ruokola, M.: Ann. Paed. Fenn. 7, 112, 1961.