Association Of Hypogammaglobulinemia Research Articles

Giardia infection: Protein-losing enteropathy in an adult with immunodeficiency

The case of a 52-year-old woman with a past history of thymoma resection who presented with chronic diarrhea and generalized edema is the focal point of this article. A diagnosis of Giardia lamblia infection was established, which was complicated by protein-losing enteropathy and severely low serum protein level in a patient with no urinary protein loss and normal liver function. After anti-helmintic treatment, there was recovery from hypoalbuminemia, though immunoglobulins persisted at low serum levels leading to the hypothesis of an immune system disorder. Good's syndrome is a rare cause of immunodeficiency characterized by the association of hypogammaglobulinemia and thymoma. This primary immune disorder may be complicated by severe infectious diarrhea secondary to disabled humoral and cellular immune response. This is the first description in the literature of an adult patient with an immunodeficiency syndrome who presented with protein-losing enteropathy secondary to giardiasis.

Ulcerative Colitis in a Patient with Anti-B Lymphocytotoxin and Hypogammaglobulinemia

Lymphocytotoxins (LCT) have been recently reported in the serum of patients with inflammatory disease of the bowel, but up to now these antibodies have shown no specificity for B or T lymphocyte subpopulations. A 32-year-old patient with chronic ulcerative colitis, primary hypogammaglobulinemia and a very low number (0.5 to 1.5%) of B lymphocytes in peripheral blood is described. The presence in the serum of a LCT reacting specifically with B cells was demonstrated by cytotoxicity and direct immunofluorescence experiments. Intestinal immunofluorescence studies indicated a dichotomy between blood and gut immunoglobulins, and showed a heterogeneous distribution of plasma cells of the three major classes from the jejunum to the rectum. The significance of the association of hypogammaglobulinemia, chronic ulcerative colitis, and anti-B LCT is discussed. To explain the dissociation between blood and gut immunoglobulins, it is suggested that the intestine was, in this patient, a privileged site for differentiation of B cells.

Thymoma associated with pancytopenia and hypogammaglobulinemia: Report of a case and review of the literature

In the patient here described a thymoma, hematopoietic insufficiency, hypogammaglobulinemia and antinuclear antibodies were present. The association of hypogammaglobulinemia and positive antinuclear antibodies with thymoma is cited as evidence of autoimmune disease. The reported cases of thymic tumor and hematopoietic insufficiency are reviewed.