Reye's syndrome. Possible causes and pathogenetic pathways

Differentiation of strains of varicella-zoster virus by changes in neutral lipid metabolism in infected cells

Eleven isolates of varicella-zoster virus were tested for their effects on the incorporation of [14C]acetate into lipids in infected human embryonic lung cells. By relative percent, all virus isolates demonstrated a shift from polar lipid synthesis to neutral lipid, especially triglyceride, synthesis. By data expressed as counts per minute per microgram of protein, the VZV strains could be separated into two groups: those strains which depressed lipid synthesis and those strains which did not depress, and may even have stimulated, lipid, especially triglyceride, synthesis. These results may be useful in understanding the development of lipid changes seen in children affected with Reye's syndrome following chickenpox.

Aspirin and Reye's syndrome: the change in prescribing habits of health professionals

Epidemiological studies demonstrate the possible increased risk of Reye's syndrome after aspirin ingestion in children suffering from viral influenza or chicken pox. This study was conducted to determine whether the possible association between aspirin and Reye's syndrome in viral influenza and chicken pox deterred pediatricians and pharmacists in a large American city (Columbus, Ohio) from prescribing or recommending aspirin to their pediatric patients suffering from other causes of fever or pain. The results indicate that 90.6 percent of pediatricians and 97.8 percent of pharmacists no longer recommend aspirin to their pediatric patients, and an almost identical percentage recommend acetaminophen instead of aspirin. This change in prescribing habits of health professionals is reflected in a drop in sales of pediatric aspirin products with a simultaneous rise in sales of pediatric acetaminophen products reported by 93.3 percent of pharmacies. However, only 69.8 percent of pediatricians and 86.7 percent of pharmacists noted that their abstention from prescribing or recommending aspirin to children was rooted in a belief in a possible association between aspirin and Reye's syndrome.

Variation in human herpesvirus susceptibility to enhancement by the pesticide carbaryl

The ability of various human herpesviruses to be enhanced by the pretreatment of human embryonic lung cells with the pesticide carbaryl (1-naphthyl-N-methyl-carbamate) differs according to the virus tested. Different strains of varicella-zoster virus produced different patterns of susceptibility to enhancement. Laboratory-adapted strains were less sensitive to enhancement than were wild-type strains recently isolated from clinical specimens. The related human herpes simplex viruses types 1 and 2 and cytomegalovirus were negative for susceptibility to enhancement when either laboratory-adapted or wild-type strains were tested. No difference in the pattern of susceptibility was detected whether virus yields were determined by cell-associated or cell-free virus assay or when the input multiplicity was varied 10-fold.