tetracycline and Hypergammaglobulinemia

Monoclonal gammopathy associated with Ehrlichia canis infection was diagnosed in a German Shepherd Dog. The dog was treated by use of chemotherapy and tetracycline and by plasmapheresis. The dog tolerated plasmapheresis and long-term drug therapy well, and clinical signs resolved over a 90-day period. The monoclonal gammopathy resolved after treatment, but specific antibody to E canis indicated suppression followed by a rebound to the initial high titer.

Topics: Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; Dog Diseases; Dogs; Ehrlichia; Female; Hypergammaglobulinemia; Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance; Plasmapheresis; Rickettsiaceae Infections; Tetracycline

Sixteen cases of chronic Q fever are described. In eight there was a history of exposure to infection from farms or farm products. All had valvular heart disease, involving the mitral valve in nine and the aortic valve in seven. Infection occurred on a prosthetic valve in two patients. Arterial embolism was common. Venous thrombosis occured in three patients, and pulmonary embolism occurred in three other patients. Complement fixing antibodies to phase 1 antigen were found in a titre of 1:200 or greater in all except two patients. In one of these post-mortem examination revealed rickettsial bodies in mitral valve vegetations, and in the other Coxiella burneti was isolated from heart valve tissue. The majority presented with infective endocarditis but two presented primarily with liver disease. All patients had evidence of liver involvement and in one this led to death from cirrhosis. Abnormal tests of liver function, particularly hyperglobulinaemia, raised alkaline phsophatase and abnormal bromsulphthalein retention were found in all patients. Hepatic histology was abnormal in all eight patients in whom it was studied. The commonest features were mononuclear cell infiltration of the portal tracts and prominence of the sinusoidal Kupffer cells. Patchy focal necrosis of parenchymal cells, granulomata, fatty change, and eosinophilia of the sinusoidal walls were also noted in several patients and cirrhosis developed in one. Six patients had a purpuric rash, and in 12 there was thrombocytopenia. It is suggested that the presence of hepatomegaly and liver involvement and thrombocytopenia may help to differentiate Q fever endocarditis from bacterial endocarditis. Raised serum IgM and IgA levels occured frequently, but with only a moderate dominance of IgM. Sheep cell agglutination and latex fixation tests for rheumatoid factor were occasionally positive. Several features of the disease suggest the possibility that immune-complex mechanisms may play a role in chronic Q fever. Treatment was with prolonged courses of tetracycline usually combined with lincomycin. Seven patients underwent valve replacement surgery for haemodynamic reasons. Five patients died; two from heart failure, one from cirrhosis, one seven days after valve replacement and one from intraperitoneal haemorrhage following percutaneous liver biopsy. Three patients have survived for more than five years, and another six for more than three and a half years after diagnosis. Of these nine patients, th

Topics: Adult; Chronic Disease; Endocarditis; Female; Heart Valve Diseases; Hematologic Diseases; Humans; Hypergammaglobulinemia; Lincomycin; Liver Diseases; Male; Middle Aged; Q Fever; Tetracycline; Thrombocytopenia

Administration of tetracycline to rabbits in doses of 10 and 40 mg/kg induced hyperplasia of the reticulo-plasmic tissue of the bone marrow correlating with increased levels of gammaglobulins in the blood serum. The pronounced reticulo-plasmocytal reaction of the bone marrow must be considered as manifestation of hyperplasia of the whole reticulo-histiocytal system of the host with impairement of differentiation of the reticular syncytium of the bone marrow.

Topics: Administration, Oral; Animals; Blood Cell Count; Blood Protein Electrophoresis; Bone Marrow; Bone Marrow Cells; Bone Marrow Examination; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Electrophoresis, Paper; Hypergammaglobulinemia; Male; Plasma Cells; Rabbits; Stimulation, Chemical; Tetracycline; Time Factors