J. P. Gusdon, G. Herbst
Nov 15, 1976
Citations
0
Influential Citations
5
Citations
Journal
American journal of obstetrics and gynecology
Abstract
THIS LABORATORY has been involved in the study of promethazine hydrochloride and its use in erythroblastosis for many years. Our interest in this drug was originally aroused by the report by Bierme-Alie-Enjalbert’ of a possible amelioration of the effects of erythroblastosis in 1 I patients treated with that drug during pregnancy. The possibility that its ability to ameliorate this immunologically mediated disease by an immunosuppressive capability was studied by us in patients and in the laboratory. Our most recent publication reviews our prior work and documents the in vitro inhibition, by promethazine hydrochloride, of the ability of macrophages of the newborn infant to form rosettes with anti-D opsonized red blood cells.’ We have previously shown that fetal red blood cell destruction in erythroblastosis caused by the Rh antigen was not accomplished directly by the antibody and that the anti-D was not complement-fixing. In addition, we have also documented the ability of promethazine hydrochloride to inhibit lymphocyte-mediated functions in vivo in animals. The first paper we published concerning the effectiveness of promethazine hydrochloride in the treatment of erythroblastosis involved only 15 patients. A subsequent paper involving more than 40 patients is in preparation. However, we have maintained a concern regarding the effects which promethazine hydro-