Hodgkin's disease and Epstein-Barr virus: altered antibody pattern before diagnosis
Article Abstract:
Hodgkin's disease, a cancer of the lymph nodes, is similar in appearance to a disease caused by a chronic infection. It is suggested that periodic viral activity, with incomplete immunity, may be responsible for the development of Hodgkin's disease. The Epstein-Barr virus, the virus responsible for infectious mononucleosis, fits the profile of a virus which may direct the course of Hodgkin's disease. Previous studies indicate that the blood of patients diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease tends to have signs of greater Epstein-Barr virus exposure. A study to determine whether the presence of the Epstein-Barr virus was actually causing Hodgkin's disease or was a result of the Hodgkins's disease reactivating the latent virus examined patients' blood samples before Hodgkin's disease diagnosis. The results from 43 patients with Hodgkin's disease and 96 controls revealed that higher levels of the Epstein-Barr virus were present in most, but not all, patients with Hodgkin's disease and in some control patients. The virus may therefore be associated with the development of the cancer, although the direct relationship is unclear.
Publication Name: The New England Journal of Medicine
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0028-4793
Year: 1989
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A 49-year-old man with myelofibrosis, myeloid metaplasia, and osteolytic lesions of the left femur
Article Abstract:
A 49-year-old man was diagnosed with granulocytic sarcoma. Granulocytic sarcoma is a malignant tumor arising from bone marrow tissue. The patient was admitted to the hospital with myelofibrosis and myeloid metaplasia. Myelofibrosis is replacement of bone marrow tissue with fibrous tissue. Myeloid metaplasia is the occurrence of bone marrow tissue in other parts of the body. He also had painful lesions in his right femur, the thighbone. He started experiencing symptoms after a minor injury to his right knee 11 months before admission to the hospital. An X-ray of his right leg revealed a soft-tissue mass in his femur. A computed tomographic (CT) scan showed an enlarged spleen. Biopsies of the soft-tissue mass and a lymph node found that he had granulocytic sarcoma. His lymph nodes decreased in size and the lesions healed after several courses of chemotherapy.
Publication Name: The New England Journal of Medicine
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0028-4793
Year: 1993
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Pancytopenia, splenomegaly, and retinal hemorrhage in a 52-year-old diabetic man
Article Abstract:
A 52-year-old man was admitted to a hospital with weakness, fatigue and pancytopenia - decreased levels of all blood cell types. He had an abnormal blood smear, increased amounts of immunoglobulins in his blood and protein in his urine. A bone marrow biopsy showed infiltration of the marrow by plasma cells, the blood cells that produce antibodies. He was diagnosed with multiple myeloma and secondary myelofibrosis.
Publication Name: The New England Journal of Medicine
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0028-4793
Year: 1992
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