No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Since Ehrlich and Morgenroth (1) made the observation that antibody and complement are independent entities, and Wassermann (2) advanced the hypothesis that serum complement concentration serves as a measure of general resistance, many attempts have been made to elucidate the role of complement in acute and chronic diseases. Longcope (3) held that "terminal infection in chronic disease is probably the direct result of the diminished state of bacteriolytic complement." Dick (4) noted that in cases of pneumonia, complement was low before crisis, and high on the second to third day following crisis. The recent work of Rutstein and Walker (5) also points to a diminished complement in patients with pneumonia at the time of their admission to the hospital. These authors further remarked that the sera of 7 of 12 patients with pneumonia, tested immediately after the administration of antipneumococcal serum, showed diminished complement titers. The sera of 6 of 11 patients with serum disease were also found by these authors to have decreased complement titers. Goussev (6) and Wendstrand (7) reported, however, an increase in complement in the sera of patients with pneumonia.Gunn (8) found complement always present during the course of enteric fever, although in greater amount throughout the period of pyrexia than during convalescence. He remarked that a diminution of titer in favorable cases coincided with the production of antibody. According to Gunn, complement and antibody are not produced in any fixed ratio to one another.In erysipelas Gunn (8) found complement present in greater amount during the acute stage of illness than during convalescence. Keefer and Spink (9) also noted greater fluctuations of complement titer in this disease than observed in controls without infections.lAided by a grant from the Commonwealth Fund.