[Pulmonary hemosiderosis in children. Immunologic study]

Circulating anti alveolar basement membrane antibodies have been detected by indirect immunofluorescence on lung rat in two out of five children presenting with pulmonary hemosiderosis. The two cases are reported and seem to be consistent with an auto-immune disease due to anti-basement membrane antibodies. Authors outline the presence of anti-reticulin antibodies in the two cases reported and the high level of IgE which seems a frequent finding in pulmonary hemosiderosis.