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Summary A female patient with Wegener's granulomatosis developed severe bone marrow depression after two years treatment with cyclophosphamide. Corticosteroids alone could not sufficiently suppress disease activity, therefore additive therapy with Cyclosporin A was started. Four weeks later the patient developed a central nervous system disorder with affective disturbances and progressive somnolence. However, inspite of intensive diagnostic procedures, no definite diagnosis could be established. After another two months she died. Post-mortem-examination showed progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy. An association between immunosuppressive therapy and reactivation of JC-Virus is suggested.

The value of the sorbtional specific surface of the martian soil (from CO2evolution in GEX (gas exchange experiments) of Viking craft) is more than an order of magnitude greater than the value of its geometrical specific surface (from granulometry). An hypothesis is therefore proposed here to explain the microporous structure of the soil grains. Absence of O2and CO2in GCMS (gas chromatography–mass spectrometry) (heating up to 500 °C) gives some indication of the closeness of the pores. The origin of such soil structure and the filling of pores with CO2and O2due to the effects of various forms of radiation are discussed. The similarity between kinetics in LR (labelled release) and GEX as well as their correspondence with the filtration curve for water vapour migrating through the soil sample suggest that both the formation and the diffusion of the gases are rapid processes. Displacement desorption by water vapour by simultaneous opening of the pores due to the Rebinder effect, is suggested as the natural mechanism for outgassing in the GEX and LR ‘Viking’ experiments.