Failure of Fresh Plasma in Leiner Disease

In a 1977 case study, a 2-month-old infant with Leiner disease exhibited symptoms such as a seborrhea-like eruption, respiratory distress, and failure to thrive. Despite normal immunoglobulin levels, white blood cell count, and neutrophil function, the infant had severely reduced cellular and humoral chemotaxis. Treatment with fresh plasma transfusions corrected the opsonization defect but failed to improve the infant's clinical condition, and the infant ultimately succumbed to Candida albicans septicemia. The study concluded that Leiner disease might involve more complex immune defects than previously recognized and that fresh plasma transfusions are not always beneficial. The authors recommended comprehensive host defense evaluations for patients with suspected Leiner disease. Additionally, the document mentioned a case of hair loss linked to rapid weight loss, attributing the hair loss to a lack of protein rather than the rate of weight loss.