Pernicious Anaemia, Myxoedema, and Hypogammaglobulinaemia--A Family Study

Pernicious anaemia and hypogammaglobulinaemia in a patient with severe infantile kyphoscoliosis

“…Pernicious anaemia, when associated with hypogammaglobulinaemia, occurs at a younger age than the classical variety (Twomey, 1978) and the occurrence of pernicious anaemia and other autoimmune diseases in family members has been noted (Lee et al, 1964;Gelfand et al, 1972). In such patients, the associated gastric atrophy involves the antrum in addition to the body, as in classical uncomplicated pernicious anaemia and this is accompanied by normal or low levels of serum gastrin (Hughes, Brooks and Conn, 1972).…”

Primary acquired hypogammaglobulinaemia and auto-immune thyroiditis

“…PRIMARY acquired hypogammaglobulinaemia, characterized by frequent bacterial infections (particularly of the sinuses and respiratory tract), a very low serum level of y globulin and failure to produce antibody in response to antigenic stimulation has been associated with a variety of other disorders. These include diseases of the reticulo-endothelial system such as lymphosarcoma, Hodgkin's disease, leukaemia and multiple myeloma (Douglas, Goldberg and Fudenberg, 1970;Fudenberg, 1971) and auto-immune disorders including acquired haemolytic anaemia, rheumatoid arthritis (Fudenberg, 1971) and pernicious anaemia (Lee et al, 1964;Conn et al, 1968;Twomey et al, 1969).…”