HEREDITY and RHEUMATIC FEVER

Reiter's Syndrome in Father and Son

“…West (1949) concluded that the familial incidence of ankylosing spondylitis was greater than might be expected on the grounds of chance alone. The familial incidence of gout is well established (Stecher, Hersh, and Solomon, 1949), and a familial tendency has been claimed in rheumatic fever (Stevenson and Cheeseman, 1956).…”

Interrelationships of the Mesenchymal Diseases with Consideration of Possible Genetic Mechanisms

“…Three other reports (199, 200, 20 1) indicate that the conclusion regarding the autosomal recessive pattern may be valid, but that one-third to two-thirds of the susceptible siblings are affected, rather than the 86 per cent reported by Wilson. Other investigators (202,203,204) are even more skeptical of the data available, and on the basis of their own studies, as well as others, conclude that while inheritance may play a major role in rheumatic fever, a particular Mendelian mechanism cannot be established.…”

Genetic Determinants of Communicable Disease*

“…Corroboration of each finding was reported. One feature of these observations has been questioned by Stevenson and Cheeseman (1956), who noted that secondary cases occurred less frequently in Belfast than in any of the cities in the United States and that the proportion of affected parents was also lower. The Belfast families were derived from consecutive admissions to a children's cardiac clinic; comparison is possible with the Baltimore study, in which a similar procedure was followed.…”