Prognostic importance of pruritus in Hodgkin's disease

In 1971 participants in the Ann Arbor Conference on Hodgkin's disease thought that pruritus had no independent prognostic importance. We reviewed our series of patients with Hodgkin's disease and found six patients in whom severe itching was a major clinical problem. When compared with similarly treated patients without pruritus, these patients appeared to have more-aggressive disease. Severe itching, alone or with B symptoms, needs further study, since it may presage a poor prognosis.

Granulocyte modulation of endotoxin-stimulated colony-stimulating activity (CSA) production

Incubation of human macrophages with endotoxin resulted in significantly enhanced colony-stimulating activity (CSA) production by these cells. Preincubation of endotoxin with mature granulocytes abolished this stimulatory effect. The stimulatory effect of endotoxin on macrophage CSA production was not abolished, however, by preincubation with NaF-treated granulocytes, granulocyte membranes, or nonphagocytic cells (lymphocytes or erythrocytes). These data suggest that mature granulocytes may play a role in the modulation of CSA production and granulopoiesis by inactivation of stimulatory materials such as endotoxin.

Granulopoietic and erythropoietic activity in patients with anemias of iron deficiency and chronic disease

The serum levels of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (CSF) and erythropoietin (Ep) were measured in 16 patients with iron-deficiency anemia and 15 patients with the anemia of chronic disease. Levels of both CSF and Ep in the serum of patients with iron-deficiency anemia had an inverse linear relationship to the level of the packed cell volume (PCV). There was no correlation between PCV and the levels of CSF or Ep in the serum of patients with the anemia of chronic disease. The similarity in the behavior of CSF and Ep in iron-deficiency anemia suggests that they may be influenced by similar control mechanisms or have a common cellular or molecular source.