DEFECTIVE SERUM GAMMA GLOBULIN FORMATION

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Abstract
Seven males, with deficient serum gamma globulin are described. Three presented the complete clinical picture with total absence of antibodies. Lymphadeno-pathy and splenomegaly led to the erroneous diagnosis of malignant lymphoma in all 3. Two of them have developed chronic hepatitis. Two patients possessed some antibodies including isohemagglutinins in low titer and are not subject to infections. Two brothers with long histories of repeated infections, developed chronic lymphocytic leukemia late in life from which they died. The occurrence of the anomaly in siblings'' lends strong support to the hypothesis of inheritance, even when it appears in adults.