Hypogammaglobulinemia, a form of primary immunodeficiency, is an uncommon condition. Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms may be the only presentation. A series of 22 patients who presented with GI symptoms and were diagnosed with hypogammaglobulinemia is presented. Chronic diarrhea was the presentation in majority (90.9 %) of patients. Malabsorption was identified in 87.5 % of patients followed by w...

We undertook this study to determine whether patients with late-onset hypogammaglobulinemia, who are at very high risk for gastric cancer, have a reduced secretion of gastrin after stimulation with food or bombe­ sin, a potent gastrin-releasing stimulus. We compared the plasma gastrin responses to bombesin and to a standard test meal in 18 patients with late-onset hypogammaglob­ ulinemia with t...

Good syndrome, characterized by hypogammaglobulinemia and acquired immunodeficiency, is a rare condition associated with thymoma. A 67-year-old woman, who 4 months previously had a thymoma resected, presented with generalized hypogammaglobulinemia with a severely decreased B cell population as demonstrated by flow cytometry. She was diagnosed as having bacterial mediastinitis associated with Go...

A 72-yr-old male with Tr-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (Tr-CLL) exhibited pure red cell aplasia (PRCA) and hypogammaglobulinemia. During a remission of Tr-CLL, and while receiving cyclophosphamide therapy, he recovered from PRCA and hypogammaglobulinemia. To investigate the pathogenesis of PRCA and hypogammaglobulinemia, we used coculture techniques to study the effect of the malignant Tr c...

Etiologies for human hypogammaglobulinemias are diverse and include genetic and nongenetic causes. Although recent reviews focus on the complex genetics of common variable immunodeficiency, in this review, we survey different causes of hypogammaglobulinemias and discuss possible mechanisms.

A 35-year-old man came to the offi ce with right-sided facial swelling, which he had noted over the last two years. The swelling was worse in the mornings and decreased through the day; however there were no symptom-free days. He had not experienced fevers, chills, or changes in his vision. He had experienced multiple episodes of lower extremity cellulitis, left more frequent than right leg, be...