415 study of neocortex as the core of neuropsychology, it is with these chapters that the volume is of greatest use. With appropriate editing and supplementation, the second edition of the text should continue to offer a high-quality introduction to the field. Regulation of the Immune System, the proceedings of the Ortho-UCLA Symposium , held in March 1984 with about 500 participants, documents...

observation that infection can precipitate an autoimmune disease dates back more than a century. The first human autoimmune disease described, paroxysmal cold hemoglobulinuria, was thought of as a late consequence of syphilis, and rheumatic fever is still associated with preceding streptococcal infection. In modern times, these associations have been attributed to molecular mimicry. In its simp...

A single cycle of rituximab for the treatment of severe pemphigus. Treatment of severe pemphigus with rituximab: report of 12 cases and a review of the literature. Clinical efficacy of different doses of ritux-imab in the treatment of pemphigus: a retrospective study of 27 patients. Rituximab for treatment-refractory pemphigus and pemphigoid: a case series of 17 patients. in autoim-mune bullous...

This research topic was inspired in those still non-curable inflammatory conditions, such as autoim-mune diseases and transplant rejection, based on the fact that immunologists worldwide are still searching for strategies to restore long-term immune tolerance. Thus, we gathered several researchers whom actively base their investigation lines in novel molecules and immune cell populations that c...

A 54-year-old man with childhood-onset type I diabetes mellitus who had preserved renal function but blindness secondary to his diabetes mellitus presented with a 5-day history of malaise and diarrhea. On admission, he was dehydrated, hypotensive, and hypo-thermic (96.1ºF/35.6ºC). Initial laboratory values showed a potassium level of 9.2 (N, 3.6–5.0) mmol/L, and a sodium level of 122 (N, 137–14...

T hese guidelines represent the recommendations of the Immunology of Diabetes Society (IDS) on the assessment of risk of type 1 diabetes in unaffected first-degree relatives of patients with the disease, and are based on the consensus reached at a symposium held at the fourth meeting of the IDS (Fiuggi, Italy, November 1999). Assessment of risk of type 1 diabetes in relatives was initially base...

In the past decade, immunothérapieshave been developed that are capable of causing prolonged cancer regressions in selected patients with advanced metastatic disease. In the past year, attempts at the gene therapy of cancer have begun. These experimental cancer treatments deserve vigorous exploration. The last decade has witnessed the rise of new biological treatments for cancer based on stimu...

At the beginning of the twentieth century, Ehrlich introduced the concept of"horror autotoxicus." He argued that the immune system was prevented from mounting an attack against the tissues it was designed to protect. At mid-century, Burnet formulated his clonal selection theory, which assumed that self-reactive lymphocytes were eliminated. We now know that autoreactive T and B cells can be read...

tral nervous system demyelination have been increasingly recognized in children. Moreover, a much higher proportion of children (as compared to adults) suffer from a monophasic (and not chronic) demyelinating event such as acute disseminated encephalomyelitis or isolated optic neuritis, and transverse myelitis, often post-infectious. Differentiation between such acute monophasic illnesses and a...

He was a healthy soldier and recalled no recent travel, environmental exposures, or family history of recent intercurrent diseases. His medical history included dust mite allergy and acne vulgaris treated with minocycline (100 mg twice a day) for the previous 3 years. On physical examination, the patient appeared cachectic. His temperature was 36.5ºC and blood pressure was normal. Diffuse arthr...