A RESEARCH PRESENTATION FOR DR. RUBENSTEIN'S IMMUNOLOGY CLASS 00' @ SKIDMORE
GENERAL INFORMATION
(SCID) Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Disease is a genetic disposition which is considered to be the most serious of all the primary Immunodeficiency diseases. The word combined is indicative to the fact that neither B or T lymphocytes are able to perform their normal functions in upholding the adaptive immune system. Due to the lack of these immune cells, infants born with SCID will be more susceptible to serious infections than other children of their age (NCBI 1998).
The most indicative symptoms of an SCID child are unusual infectious, unlike the frequent colds which most children endure. These infections may include pneumonia, meningitis and blood stream infections. The most harmful infection is caused by varicella, the thicken pox virus, which is localized to the epidermis and mucous membranes in normal children (IDF 1999). In SCID children, however, thicken pox is often fatal, as it spreads to the lungs and brain. Even more discerning is the fact that viruses like the cytomegalovirus, which almost everyone carries in their salivary glands, can attack a deficient immune system and cause fatal pneumonia in the case of SCID. Although a simple white blood cell count could indicate the possibility of SCID, it is not a common practice of doctors due to the rare occurance of this disease (approximately 1 in 500,000 children) (IDF 1999).