[Association of Epstein-Barr virus and Hodgkin's disease: comparison between Algerian and French patients]. / Association du virus d'Epstein-Barr à la maladie de Hodgkin: comparaison entre patients algériens et français.

The prevalence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) markers in nodal lesions from Algerian (Al) patients (n = 47) was compared to French (Fr) patients (n = 21) with Hodgkin's disease. Initial characteristics were: males Fr 57%, Al 53%; median age Fr 29, Al 26; histologic subtypes: lymphocytic predominance (LP) Fr 1, Al 2; nodular sclerosis (NS) Fr 16, Al 19; mixed cellularity (MC) Fr 4, Al 12; lymphocytic depletion (LD) Al 2. The latent membrane protein (LMP) was expressed in Reed-Sternberg cells (RSC) in 16 Al (4 NS, 12 MC) and 4 Fr (2 NS, 2 MC) cases. All LMP-positive cases were also positive by DNA or RNA in situ hybridization (ISH). ISH was positive in RSC of 29% of Fr and 66% of Al patients (p < 0.02); the positivity was more frequent in MC (80%) than in other histologic types (39%). EBV genome was detected by PCR on DNA extracted from frozen samples in 84% of Fr and 95% of Al patients (100% of MC and 86% of other histologic types). The discrepancy between PCR and ISH results can be due to a lesser sensitivity of the latter technique, or, alternatively, to the presence of EBV in lymphoid cells surrounding RSC. ISH positivity was more frequent in young Al adults than in Fr ones. This more pronounced HD-EBV link in patients from a developing country compared with an industrialized one can result from the age at primary EBV infection, which occurs earlier in Algeria than in France.

Quantification of red blood cell fragmentation: usefulness of heating cells and of automatic counting devices.

Spontaneous red blood cell (RBC) fragmentation occurs in some membrane erythropathies like hereditary elliptocytosis (HE); this phenomenon is produced in normal RBC by heating at 49 degrees C, but not at temperatures below this limit; fragmentation is usually quantified by counting the number of fragments/1000 RBC under light microscopic examination. The present work demonstrates: i) that enumeration of fragments is performed more precisely with an automatic blood cells counter on the 'platelet' channel; and ii) that heating at 48 degrees C enhances the fragmentation of RBC when they have a severe disruption of skeletal lattice, like in HE.

Occurrence and characteristics of hereditary spherocytosis in Algeria.

In a survey of more than 12,000 persons referred to a hematological outpatient clinic in Algiers, we estimated that the incidence of hereditary spherocytosis (HS) is 1/1000. Another 9 cases were found in nine of the corresponding families. Anemia was present in a total of 44 subjects (81%). The transmission was dominant in five of eight informative families (63%). No firm conclusion could be reached concerning the amount of spectrin and ankyrin in nine families; however two-dimensional peptide maps ruled out any alphaII domain abnormality in these families. We estimate that HS has roughly the same incidence and features among Algerians as in Europeans or people of European descent.

Sickle cell beta-thalassaemia compared with sickle cell anaemia in Algeria.

Clinical, haematological and biochemical features in 42 subjects with S-beta thalassaemia (31 subjects with S-beta thalassaemia and 11 subjects with S-beta+ thalassaemia); and in 42 with homozygous sickle cell disease were compared. Persistent splenomegaly was more common and painful crises less common in the S-beta thalassaemia group. Total Hb was higher and reticulocyte count lower in S-beta+ thalassaemia than in S-beta thalassaemia or SS disease. Microcytosis was marked in the S-beta thalassaemia group while the MCV was normal in sickle cell anaemia. Hb F was significantly higher in the S-beta thalassaemia group, without any influence on the severity of the disease. Many features suggest that sickle cell thalassaemia is more severe in Algeria than in Negro subjects and similar to the disease in Italian patients.