Childhood leukaemia and mother-foetus infection

Some immunological interactions between mother and foetus.

Blood group incompatibility between mother and foetus.

Genetic studies in the Lepidoptera Many of you will know that my interest in human genetics derived from breeding butterflies, and it was the phenomenon of mimicry in these insects which caused my colleague P. M. Sheppard and myself to become interested in the Rhesus blood groups, and through them in the general subject of blood group incompatibility between mother and foetus. Because the conne...

Infection during remission induction in childhood leukaemia.

We have analysed our experience in the management of suspected infection in a group of 221 children with acute leukaemia undergoing induction of first remission. Patients with suspected infection received early empirical antibiotic therapy with cephalothin and gentamicin pending results of bacteriological investigations. Infection occurred in 17% of children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (...

Indoor radon and childhood leukaemia.

This paper summarises the epidemiological literature on domestic exposure to radon and risk for childhood leukaemia. The results of 12 ecological studies show a consistent pattern of higher incidence and mortality rates for childhood leukaemia in areas with higher average indoor radon concentrations. Although the results of such studies are useful to generate hypotheses, they must be interprete...

Cataracts in childhood leukaemia.

The incidence and severity of cataract were studied in 37 children who had completed treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Twelve (32%) had posterior subcapsular lens opacities. Treatment had included corticosteroids and cranial irradiation, but no dose relationship was evident. The boys were more severely affected than the girls. Although none of the lens opacities was optically signifi...