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Cytomegalovirus complement-fixing antibody in microcephalic infants and children
984
Society for Pediatric Research
November
gram of wet weight of brain). Refeeding experiments, performed at 2 day intervals between ages 2 and 16 days, in which malnourished animals are subsequently well fed, indicate that malnourished animals given an adequate diet after 8 days are not able to form sulfatide at a rate greater than the chronically malnourished animals. Thus, in these studies, a "critical period" appears to exist for the formation of a component of myelin.
89. Antibody and interferon responses in viral infections of the neuraxls Donald
M.
McLean
and
R.
P.
Bryce
L a r k e , "~ H o s p i t a l f o r Sick C h i l d r e n , T o r o n to, O n t a r i o , C a n a d a Rising titers of enteroviral neutralizing antibody were detected in sera from 8 of 11 children with enteroviral meningitis during the summer of 1965, and 3 had elevated antibody titers in sera obtained 1 to 3 days apart, when the initial sample was collected 1 to 5 days after onset. Enteroviruses were isolated from feces of 11 patients and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 5 subjects. Interferon titers of 2 to 5 were detected in CSF from 10 cases, 5 of which yielded an enterovirus, and one nonexcretor had a CSF interferon titer of 32. Interferon titers between 5 and 10 were found in 3 of 7 children with aseptic meningitis from whom no virus was recovered. Interferon was detected in CSF from only I of 52 patients with convulsions, but no meningitis. Interferon titers between 10 and 80 were found in CSF from 3 of 5 children with mumps meningitis, 2 of whom yielded mumps virus in CSF, and an additional virus excretor showed no interferon. Rising mumps antihemagglutinin titers were detected in 11 children with mumps meningitis, ineluding 5 serum pairs obtained 2 days apart, 3 pairs 3 to 4 days apart, and 3 pairs 7 to 21 days apart. These results demonstrate: (1) the feasibility of rapid serologic diagnosis in viral meningitis with standard techniques, and (2) interferon production in CSF of patients with viral meningitis.
90. Cytomegalovirus complement-fixing antibody in microcephalic infants and children J a m e s B. H a n s h a w , U n i v e r s i t y of R o c h e s ter
School
of
Medicine
and
Dentistry,
R o c h e s t e r , N. Y. The report with Weller (1962) of microcephaly in 14/17 infants with generalized cytomegalic inclusion disease (CID) established the frequent association of this central nervous system
1966
(CNS) defect with cytomegalovirus infection in utero. In 1964, Medearis demonstrated complement-fixing (CF) antibody in the sera of 6/7 microcephalic infants with CID. The present study employs the CF method to detect antibody in 17 infants with CID and in 41 noninstitutionalized, microcephalic infants and children without symptoms of generalized CID. A single antigen (AD169) detected CF antibody titers (average 1!64) in the sera of all of 17 infants with CID and in all of 12 maternal sera (average 1:128). Sera of 18/41 (44 per cent) microcephalic patients 5 months to 8 years old (average 26 months) were positive, with a mean titer of 1:52. Virus wa~ isolated from 7/13 seropositive microcephalic children tested. Eleven of the latter group had spastic cerebral palsy, 4 had periventricular calcifications--1 with chorioretinitis and two with microphthalmia. CF tests in 587 individuals without evidence of CID were positive in the following percentages: 0 to 5 months, 35.4 per cent; 5 to 24 months, 2.6 per cent; 2 to 6 years, 6.3 per cent; 6 to 10 years, 8.0 per cent; 10 to 17 years, 21.7 per cent; 17 to 40 years, 37.7 per cent. These data suggest that: (1) AD169 antigen will detect CF antibody in the sera of most infants with CID; (2) antibody in infants 5 to 94 months of age is sufficiently uncommon in the Rochester area to render the CF test of diagnostic value; (3) cytomegalovirus infection is capable of selectively damaging the CNS without involving other organs; (4) antibody is more prevalent in the sera of microcephalic infants and children than in normocephalic children of the same age.
91. A behavioral basis for lateral differences in auditory responsiveness in the human neonate Gerald Herbert
Turkewitz, ~ Tina
M o r e a u , "~ a n d
G. B i r c h , ~ A l b e r t E i n s t e i n C o l -
lege of M e d i c i n e , N e w Y o r k , N . Y. Introduced by Henry Barnett The neonate's characteristic head-right, posture typically results in the occlusion of the right ear and a consequent reduction in ambient auditory input at this locus. In this study, it was postulated that differences in the intensity of stimulation to which the two ears are pre-exposed would produce a lateral difference in adaptation. This difference could account for the differential lateral responsiveness to auditory stimuli which we have previously reported. It was therefore hypothesized that prevention of right ear occlusion would result in an alteration of responsiveness to stimuli presented at this ear and a consequent reduction of the lateral auditory difference. For this purpose, an experimental group of 20 2-day-old infants had their heads main-
Society for Pediatric Research
November
gram of wet weight of brain). Refeeding experiments, performed at 2 day intervals between ages 2 and 16 days, in which malnourished animals are subsequently well fed, indicate that malnourished animals given an adequate diet after 8 days are not able to form sulfatide at a rate greater than the chronically malnourished animals. Thus, in these studies, a "critical period" appears to exist for the formation of a component of myelin.
89. Antibody and interferon responses in viral infections of the neuraxls Donald
M.
McLean
and
R.
P.
Bryce
L a r k e , "~ H o s p i t a l f o r Sick C h i l d r e n , T o r o n to, O n t a r i o , C a n a d a Rising titers of enteroviral neutralizing antibody were detected in sera from 8 of 11 children with enteroviral meningitis during the summer of 1965, and 3 had elevated antibody titers in sera obtained 1 to 3 days apart, when the initial sample was collected 1 to 5 days after onset. Enteroviruses were isolated from feces of 11 patients and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 5 subjects. Interferon titers of 2 to 5 were detected in CSF from 10 cases, 5 of which yielded an enterovirus, and one nonexcretor had a CSF interferon titer of 32. Interferon titers between 5 and 10 were found in 3 of 7 children with aseptic meningitis from whom no virus was recovered. Interferon was detected in CSF from only I of 52 patients with convulsions, but no meningitis. Interferon titers between 10 and 80 were found in CSF from 3 of 5 children with mumps meningitis, 2 of whom yielded mumps virus in CSF, and an additional virus excretor showed no interferon. Rising mumps antihemagglutinin titers were detected in 11 children with mumps meningitis, ineluding 5 serum pairs obtained 2 days apart, 3 pairs 3 to 4 days apart, and 3 pairs 7 to 21 days apart. These results demonstrate: (1) the feasibility of rapid serologic diagnosis in viral meningitis with standard techniques, and (2) interferon production in CSF of patients with viral meningitis.
90. Cytomegalovirus complement-fixing antibody in microcephalic infants and children J a m e s B. H a n s h a w , U n i v e r s i t y of R o c h e s ter
School
of
Medicine
and
Dentistry,
R o c h e s t e r , N. Y. The report with Weller (1962) of microcephaly in 14/17 infants with generalized cytomegalic inclusion disease (CID) established the frequent association of this central nervous system
1966
(CNS) defect with cytomegalovirus infection in utero. In 1964, Medearis demonstrated complement-fixing (CF) antibody in the sera of 6/7 microcephalic infants with CID. The present study employs the CF method to detect antibody in 17 infants with CID and in 41 noninstitutionalized, microcephalic infants and children without symptoms of generalized CID. A single antigen (AD169) detected CF antibody titers (average 1!64) in the sera of all of 17 infants with CID and in all of 12 maternal sera (average 1:128). Sera of 18/41 (44 per cent) microcephalic patients 5 months to 8 years old (average 26 months) were positive, with a mean titer of 1:52. Virus wa~ isolated from 7/13 seropositive microcephalic children tested. Eleven of the latter group had spastic cerebral palsy, 4 had periventricular calcifications--1 with chorioretinitis and two with microphthalmia. CF tests in 587 individuals without evidence of CID were positive in the following percentages: 0 to 5 months, 35.4 per cent; 5 to 24 months, 2.6 per cent; 2 to 6 years, 6.3 per cent; 6 to 10 years, 8.0 per cent; 10 to 17 years, 21.7 per cent; 17 to 40 years, 37.7 per cent. These data suggest that: (1) AD169 antigen will detect CF antibody in the sera of most infants with CID; (2) antibody in infants 5 to 94 months of age is sufficiently uncommon in the Rochester area to render the CF test of diagnostic value; (3) cytomegalovirus infection is capable of selectively damaging the CNS without involving other organs; (4) antibody is more prevalent in the sera of microcephalic infants and children than in normocephalic children of the same age.
91. A behavioral basis for lateral differences in auditory responsiveness in the human neonate Gerald Herbert
Turkewitz, ~ Tina
M o r e a u , "~ a n d
G. B i r c h , ~ A l b e r t E i n s t e i n C o l -
lege of M e d i c i n e , N e w Y o r k , N . Y. Introduced by Henry Barnett The neonate's characteristic head-right, posture typically results in the occlusion of the right ear and a consequent reduction in ambient auditory input at this locus. In this study, it was postulated that differences in the intensity of stimulation to which the two ears are pre-exposed would produce a lateral difference in adaptation. This difference could account for the differential lateral responsiveness to auditory stimuli which we have previously reported. It was therefore hypothesized that prevention of right ear occlusion would result in an alteration of responsiveness to stimuli presented at this ear and a consequent reduction of the lateral auditory difference. For this purpose, an experimental group of 20 2-day-old infants had their heads main-