title: Complement deficiencies in selected groups of patients with meningococcal disease.
abstract: We have examined 125 individuals who have earlier had meningococcal (mgc) disease. They belonged to one or more of the following groups: (1) 2 or more cases of mgc disease in the same family; (2) individuals with 2 episodes of mgc disease or with 1 episode of mgc disease and 1 or more episodes of purulent meningitis of another aetiology; and (3) infections with Neisseria meningitidis belonging to serogroups that are uncommon as causes of disease and presumably low-virulent (W-135, 29E, X, Y). Among these we found 15 complement (C)-deficient individuals (12%). The prevalence of C deficiency in the groups above was 7%, 41% and 19%, respectively. The first group (family cases), is very heterogeneous and may be further subdivided into 2 groups: families whose members fell ill within an interval of 30 days (in these the prevalence of C deficiency was 2%), and families in which the interval between mgc disease cases exceeded 30 days (in those the prevalence of C deficiency was 14%). We found a predominance of defects of the initiation pathways, with properdin deficiency being the most common.
authors.affiliation: Complement Laboratory, Statens Seruminstitut, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: H E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Nielsen
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Koch
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Magnussen
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Lind
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003167:Complement Activation / Q000502:physiology; D003165:Complement System Proteins / Q000172:deficiency*; D006801:Humans; D008589:Meningococcal Infections / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D051379:Mice; D009345:Neisseria meningitidis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D011414:Properdin / Q000172:deficiency; D011817:Rabbits; D012008:Recurrence
chemical_list: D011414:Properdin; D003165:Complement System Proteins