Abstract
Immunological investigation of four patients with meningococcal meningitis who developed arthritis or cutaneous lesions showed circulating meningococcal antigen at the time of presentation in each patient. It was cleared from the circulation over the next few days. Circulating antibody was detectable in three of the four patients about a week after the onset of the illness. A marked fall in the serum C3 level occurred in two patients at about that time. Deposits of meningococcal antigen, immunoglobulin, and C3 were detected in the synovial fluid white cells of the two patients studied and in one of three skin biopsies examined. These findings suggest that the arthritis and cutaneous lesions of meningococcal meningitis may be due to immune complex formation.
Full text
PDFImages in this article
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Cream J. J., Bryceson A. D., Ryder G. Disappearance of immunoglobulin and complement from the Arthus reaction and its relevance to studies of vasculitis in man. Br J Dermatol. 1971 Feb;84(2):106–109. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2133.1971.tb06851.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Greenwood B. M., Whittle H. C., Dominic-Rajkovic O. Counter-current immunoelectrophoresis in the diagnosis of meningococcal infections. Lancet. 1971 Sep 4;2(7723):519–521. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(71)90439-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]