Immunity: Clinical and experimental observations

434

THE

to 6 years. What diaper and ammonia frequency table. the and

Folliculitis second water

is probably dermatitis-is

JOURNAL

the

with dermatitis of the most common abnormality. in the majority of cases.

OF

most common skin abnormality of infancy-a mentioned in the text but is not listed in the face It

A Nasal and Systemic Upset of Possible Eye,

Ear,

Nose,

and

Throat

Monthly

ALLERGY

occurred appeared

Thymic 18: 231,

exclusively in infancy and was to be due to the use of soap

Origin.

Oaks, W., and dlleu,

W.:

1939.

The occurrence of protracted coryza, dry skin, earl?- teething, and an adult type of white blood differential count in infant>or childhood is often found in association with a family history of allergy. ‘l’he oral administration of th)-mnn glantl is said to benefit the condition greatly.

Immunity: & West.

Clinical Med.

52:

and Experimental fi4, 1940.

Observations.

Thelander,

H. E.:

(‘alifornia

Some persons apparently have an irnmunit~to diseases which the great rna,jorit) does not share; other persons, despite a previous attack of a disease, such as measles, which usually confers immunity, acquire that disease a second time. In the same person there is considerable evidence that immunity changes spontaneously and is not a static affair. The great variability which can l)e expected in immune response as measured by one method is indicated 1)~ this report of sixteen adults and nineteen children. In these two groups the diphtheria antitoxin titer was determined after a given number of diphtheria toxoid injections. The children were unselected, and the adults were Schick-positive medical students. The children varied from 0.04 to 4 units per culjic centimeter of serum, and the adults from .004 to 3 units per cubic centimeter. Longitudinal studies on several persons show a tendency for a seasonal rise of antitoxin in the winter and spring. According to this study, the level at which the Schick test appeared to become negative was in the neighborhood of 0.01 or 0.00.5 unit per cubic centimeter of serum.

Studies in Immunity: Correlation of the Reaction to the Schick Test and the Diphtheria Antitoxin Content of the Blood Serum in Children With Scarlet Fever. Duffy, C. IS., and Mitchell, A. G.: Sm. J. Dis. Child. 59: 479, 1940. Of twenty-two children with scarlet fever, eight had a positive Schick test. In all eight there was less than 0.002 unit of diphtheria antitoxin per cubic centimeter of serum. With only two exceptions, all fourteen children with a negative The borderline of a negative Schick tevt then Schick test had over 0.002 unit. Since this appeared to be 0.002 unit of antitoxin per cubic centimeter of serum. agreed with reports on normal children, it was concluded that there is no increased sensitivity of the skin to diphtheria toxin in scarlet fever.

Familial

Occurrence

of Eosinophilia.

Malmberg,

N.:

Acta

paediat.

26:

277,

1930.

It is customary to regard eosinophilia as due to some pathologic agent. Helminthiasis, allergy, malignancy, scarlet fever, and postinfectious and posttoxic states come to mind. Naegeli even states that eosinophilia always represents a reaction and cannot, therefore, be constitutional. Nevertheless, the occurrence of a familial or constitutional eosinophilia is IXported in which no demonstrable cause for the condition could be found. The mother had from 6 to 7 per cent eosinophilia; three sons had from 11 to 26 per