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ABBREVIATIONS. HIV-1, human immunodeficiency virus type 1; CDC, Centers for Disease Control; AIDS, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome; NICU, neonatal intensive care unit. In March 1983, after recognition that human immunodeficiency virus [...]

Endocardial fibroelastosis (EFE) is a heart disorder of unknown cause, characterized by the overgrowth of both elastic and collagenous fibers within the endocardium, the membrane lining the inner surface and cavities of the heart. This disease usually affects the left ventricle, but may also involve the right ventricle and both atria. The papillary muscles located in the ventricles also have an abnormal physical appearance. EFE is usually detected within the first year of life, but rarely at birth. A case is described of EFE associated with hydrops fetalis, a blood disorder of the newborn, which was diagnosed by ultrasound in a premature infant delivered at 28 weeks gestation. The infant had severely impaired function of the ventricles; decreased size of the aortic valve, which directs blood flow from the left ventricle to the aorta; and abnormal flow within the aorta. The infant's condition worsened and she died four hours after birth. EFE is responsible for one percent of congenital or birth-related heart disease, and may be classified as primary (unrelated to other heart defects) or secondary (associated with other heart malformations). Other reports of EFE in the literature are discussed. The cause of EFE is not known, but it may be related to infection, tension within the endocardium, decreased oxygen levels, or autoimmunity, an abnormal condition in which immune cells and factors attack the body's tissues. It is also possible that EFE may be a reaction of the heart to stress or the end result of various diseases that cause cardiac damage, leading to scarring and elastic overgrowth of the endocardium. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

* Coccidioidomycosis is a fungal infection contracted through the inhalation of airborne spores, which are most frequently present in desert areas of the southwestern United States and Mexico. Primary immune [...]

For physicians interested in studying the time course of the HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) infection from first transmission of the virus to development of AIDS, establishing a firm time-line is often difficult. Usually the actual time of infection and its source are unknown. However, for those patients infected by transfusion the time and the identity of the source is accurately established. These unfortunate victims provide the medical community with its best clinical source of information concerning the natural biology of the AIDS virus. The progress of 694 individuals who received blood from 143 donors who were later found to be infected with HIV was followed. Approximately half of the transfusion recipients were dead within one year; a similar percentage of patients in the study receiving transfusions not infected with HIV were also dead within one year. Of remaining recipients, not all could be followed; of those tested for AIDS, 85 showed no infection at the time of testing and 116 were identified as infected with HIV (19 of whom already had developed AIDS). Further studies of the patients' white blood cells and other clinical findings indicated the stage of their infection. Extrapolation of previous work and data from these patients allows an estimate that approximately one half of these infected recipients will develop AIDS within seven years of the time of their transfusion. Donors were grouped into two classes, those who developed AIDS within 29 months of the time of donation (early), and those who developed AIDS after that time (late). Recipients of blood from the early group of donors were more likely to have AIDS four years after transfusion.

The article discusses the potential effectiveness of interleukin 6 (IL-6) inhibition in mitigating the severity of Transfusion-Related Acute Lung Injury (TRALI). TRALI is a serious complication of blood transfusion characterized by acute hypoxia and bilateral infiltrates on chest radiograph. IL-6 inhibitors are anti-inflammatory and have been used for various diseases, but their role in TRALI treatment has not been studied extensively. The article suggests that IL-6 inhibition could be an effective treatment for TRALI, especially in severe cases where supportive care is not sufficient. [Extracted from the article]