Faculty Bibliography

Ten patients with AIDS and progressive cytomegalovirus disease were treated with ganciclovir and foscarnet concurrently. The patients had received ganciclovir and foscarnet monotherapy a median of 330 days before receiving combination therapy for a median of 80 days. Nine of the 10 patients responded to the combination. No electrolyte abnormalities were noted during combination therapy, but rates of neutropenia (relative rate, combination vs. ganciclovir, 1.99; P = .229) and thrombocytopenia (relative rate, combination vs. ganciclovir, 1.53; P = .616) were higher with combination therapy than with either drug alone. The relative rate of anemia was significantly increased with combination therapy compared with monotherapy (relative rate, combination vs. ganciclovir, 2.69; P = .025). These data suggest that combination ganciclovir and foscarnet therapy after failure of either alone appears to be as effective as standard therapy with single agents. The rate of anemia with combination therapy was significantly greater than either agent alone, but no significant difference was noted among the other parameters of toxicity studied

Our goal was to test the hypothesis that M-CSF would induce objective responses in ASTS. M-CSF is a recombinant glycoprotein produced in Chinese hamster ovarian cells by Genetics Institute, Cambridge, MA. We performed a phase II study of M-CSF in adults with measurable metastatic soft-tissue sarcomas. 14 patients (pts) were entered in a 4-mo period. Pt characteristics were 8 females, 6 males, 10 leiomyo, 2 lipo, 1 each rhabdomyo and Schwannoma; 5 pts had primary tumor in the peritoneal cavity, 4 uterus, 3 stomach, and 1 extremity. Six pts had radiation, including 1 who had pelvic radiation. 11 pts had been previously treated with a doxorubicin-containing combination. Three pts had not had prior therapy. Ten pts had a ECOG performance status (PS) of 1 and 4 had a PS of 0. Sites of measurable disease were abdominal cavity 5, liver 3, lung and soft tissue 2 each. Pts were given a course of continuous infusion of M-CSF for 7 days, every 14 days, at a dose of 80 ug/kg/day. Six pts have gone off study after 4 courses, 2 pts after 2 courses, 2 pts after 1 course. Four pts remain on study with, to date, 2 pts at 3 courses, and 1 pt each at 4 courses and 6 courses. M-CSF at this dose and schedule was well tolerated. No pt went off study because of toxicity. No delays in treatment occurred. The most significant toxicity was thrombocytopenia: grade 3, 4 pts; grade 2, 7 pts; grade 0, 3 pts. The platelet counts recovered within days of stopping the M-CSF. The other toxicities were grade 1 flu-like symptoms in 11 pts, which was self-limited and resulted in no change in PS. Grade 1 nausea was seen in 6 pts. Grade 1 itching of the eyes occurred in 3 pts. So far, no objective responses have been observed in this population on this dose and schedule. Seven pts had progressive disease. (C) American Society of Clinical Oncology 1997

BACKGROUND: While molluscum contagiosum of the eyelid skin is commonly complicated by conjunctivitis, primary involvement of the conjunctiva or cornea by molluscum lesions is exceedingly rare. The authors studied a 34-year-old man with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in whom multiple molluscum lesions of the lids and a single nodule of the limbus developed. METHODS: The nodular lesion was excised from the limbus and processed for histologic examination by light microscopy. Pertinent literature concerning epibulbar molluscum contagiosum was reviewed. RESULTS: Histopathology of the excised lesion showed molluscum bodies within the acanthotic, hyperkeratotic conjunctival epithelium with surrounding chronic, nongranulomatous inflammation. Only 10 previous cases of conjunctival or corneal primary lesions have been reported, half of which showed associated cutaneous involvement. Lesions tended to be single, noninflamed, dome-shaped, and umbilicated, often with a yellowish central core. Patients were otherwise well and ranged in age from 3 to 55 years. Simple excision was effective in eradicating the lesions. CONCLUSION: Primary epibulbar molluscum contagiosum is rare. Although cutaneous molluscum is common in AIDS, this report is the first to document conjunctival molluscum in a patient with AIDS

We studied 21 patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and presumed Pneumocystic carinii choroidopathy. The lesions were characteristically yellow to pale yellow in color, appeared at the level of the choroid, and were found in the posterior pole. They varied in size from 300 to 3,000 microns, initially increasing in number before treatment and eventually resolving after systemic antimicrobial therapy. Of the 21 patients, 18 (86%) had received inhaled pentamidine as prophylaxis against Pneumocystis pneumonia. Visual acuity and visual field testing showed little evidence of retinal destruction. Survival after the diagnosis of the choroidopathy ranged from two to 36 weeks. Pneumocystic choroidopathy offers an easily accessible clue to disseminated Pneumocystis infection. When comparing drugs for Pneumocystis prophylaxis, careful ocular examination can provide one indicator of the relative efficacy of protection against extrapulmonary disease.

A new human microsporidian was isolated from cultures of Madin-Darby canine kidney cells incubated with conjunctival scrapings or corneal tissues from three AIDS patients with keratoconjunctivitis. The three isolates were morphologically similar to Encephalitozoon cuniculi. The spores averaged 1 x 1.5-2.0 microns, had six to eight polar filament coils, displayed monokaryotic nuclei, and possessed relatively thick endospores with irregularly shaped exospores. Organisms developed within a parasitophorous vacuole. By SDS-PAGE analysis, the three isolates appeared to be identical but were different from E. cuniculi. Identical banding patterns on Western blots of the three isolates were expressed by each patient's serum. By Western immunoblotting, murine antisera to E. cuniculi reacted to several antigens of the new AIDS-related microsporidian, whereas murine antisera bound weakly to Nosema corneum. The name Encephalitozoon hellem (n. sp.) is proposed to identify this new human microsporidian

We describe three patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome who presented with a bilateral coarse superficial epithelial keratitis due to infection with the protozoal parasite Microspora, Encephalitozoon cuniculi. Despite the extent of the corneal surface disease, conjunctival inflammation was minimal. Visual acuity ranged from 20/20 to 20/200. In one patient, the keratitis was complicated by the development of a surface defect with secondary Pseudomonas species infection. All patients had a history of exposure to household pets. Standard cultures were negative. Diagnosis was established in two of the three cases based on characteristic appearance of the protozoan in conjunctival scrapings. Electron microscopy of a conjunctival biopsy specimen in one patient confirmed the species. No recognized effective treatment is available for this infection