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Biomedical subjects

H D Danenberg

Publications and source records attributed to H D Danenberg.

30 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) treatment reverses the impaired immune response of old mice to influenza vaccination and protects from influenza infection.

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is a native steroid with an immunomodulating activity. Recently it was suggested that its age-associated decline is related with immunosenescence. To examine whether DHEA administration could effectively reverse the age-associated decline of immunity against influenza vaccine, aged mice were simultaneously vaccinated and treated with DHEA. Reversal of the age-associated decline and a significant constant increase of humoral response was observed in treated mice. Increased resistance to post-vaccination intranasal challenge with live influenza virus was observed in DHEA-treated aged mice. Thus, DHEA treatment overcame the age-related defect in the immunity of old mice against influenza.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗

Aorto-atrial fistula following internal jugular vein catheterization.

A 48-year-old woman with giant haemangioma of the liver underwent percutaneous transjugular placement of a stent in the left hepatic vein for relief of an obstruction due to the compression of the benign liver tumour. Following the procedure, paroxysmal atrial fibrillation occurred and right-sided heart failure gradually appeared. Echocardiography and cardiac catheterization demonstrated a fistula between the aortic root and the right atrium, that was confirmed on surgery.

Aortic Diseases↗

Yellow nail syndrome and xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis.

We report a case of a 74-year-old woman exhibiting the yellow nail syndrome in association with ipsilateral xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis. Nephrectomy resulted in complete resolution of the pleural effusion and slow improvement of the yellow nails. This report calls attention to the renal-related pleural effusion, and to the thorough investigation needed for the yellow nail syndrome.

Aged↗

Pharmacokinetic analysis of two new sustained-release products of diltiazem designed for twice- and once-daily treatment.

The pharmacokinetics of two new sustained-release (SR) products of diltiazem, Dilapress 120 mg tablets and Dilapress 240 mg tablets, was analysed and characterized in three different studies, in comparison to the following diltiazem SR formulations: Cardizem Retard, Cardizem SR, and Cardizem CD. Dilapress 120, designated for twice-daily dosing, was found to be bioequivalent to Cardizem SR and to Cardizem Retard with mean (+/- SD) relative bioavailability values of 99 +/- 27% and 113 +/- 38%, respectively. Dilapress 240, designed for once-a-day treatment, was found to have a slower absorption rate than Cardizem SR and its extent of absorption was 56 +/- 19% relative to that of Cardizem SR. However, the bioavailability of Dilapress 240 relative to that of Cardizem CD was 118 +/- 46%, indicating that the bioavailability of Cardizem CD relative to that of Cardizem SR was only 54 +/- 29%. Diltiazem is partially available due to a saturable liver first-pass effect. A high dose of Cardizem SR may partially escape this first-pass effect and, thus, achieve a higher extent of absorption than a slower SR product. Consequently, SR products of diltiazem designed for once-daily treatment may not reach the saturation stage in the liver first-pass effect process that diltiazem is susceptible to. Consequently, a twice-daily SR product of diltiazem cannot serve as a reference for extent of absorption assessments of a once-daily SR product.

Absorption↗

Viral neuroinvasion and encephalitis induced by lipopolysaccharide and its mediators.

The present study was designed to test the effect of bacterial endotoxin on penetration of viruses into the central nervous system (CNS). As a model we used two neurovirulent viruses that lack neuroinvasive capacity: West Nile virus-25 (WN-25) and neuroadapted Sindbis virus (SVN). Administration of lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 100 micrograms/mouse) to CD-1 mice, followed by WN-25 inoculation resulted in 83% encephalitis and death, compared with less than 5% in controls. The results in SVN-inoculated CD-1 mice were quite similar. LPS-treated mice suffered 62% mortality compared with 6% in the nontreated group. No changes in viral neuroinvasiveness were demonstrated in viruses isolated from brains of encephalitic mice, suggesting that neuroinvasion is not due to a selection process for an invasive variant, but to direct penetration of the viruses through the blood-brain barrier (BBB). LPS did not induce WN-25 encephalitis in LPS-insensitive C3H/HeJ mice, compared with 100% neuroinvasion in C3H/HeB mice. Induction of neuroinvasion could be transferred to C3H/HeJ mice by transfusion with serum obtained from LPS-treated, LPS-responsive mice. Passive immunization of CD-1 mice with anti-mTNF antibodies before LPS administration did not prevent LPS-induced WN-25 encephalitis. Furthermore, neutralization of tumor necrosis factor activity in the serum of LPS-treated mice did not abolish its activity, and transfusion-associated encephalitis was observed after the administration of the neutralized serum with WN-25. We suggest that LPS can contribute to virus penetration from the blood into the CNS, a process which turns a mild viral infection into a severe lethal encephalitis. This effect is mediated by soluble factors, and is probably achieved by injury to cerebral microvascular endothelium and modulation of BBB permeability.

Animals↗

Dehydroepiandrosterone protects mice inoculated with West Nile virus and exposed to cold stress.

The protective effect of pretreatment with dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) on stress-enhanced viral encephalitis was studied in mice exposed to cold following inoculation with West Nile virus (WNV). Exposure of WNV-inoculated mice to cold water (1 +/- 0.5 degrees C, 5 minutes/day for 8 days) resulted in a mortality rate of 83% as compared to 50% in nonstressed mice (p < 0.05). The effect of cold stress was more pronounced when mice were inoculated with WN-25, a noninvasive neurovirulent variant of WNV. Mice infected with WN-25 showed no mortality, whereas cold stressed mice inoculated with the same virus had a mortality rate of 67% (p < 0.05). The administration of DHEA (serial injections of 10-20 mg/kg with or without a loading dose of 1 gm/kg) resulted in a significant reduction in the mortality rate of stressed mice inoculated with either virus (p < 0.05). Virus levels in the blood and brain of the DHEA-treated mice, were significantly lower than in the control groups. DHEA also prevented the involution of lymphoid organs in stressed mice. The present study provides direct evidence of the protective effects of DHEA as an "anti-stress" agent. Its ability to prevent mortality associated with WNV or WN-25, and involution of lymphoid organs caused by stress-induced immunosuppression, supports the notion that its activity is based on the modulation of the host response.

Analysis of Variance↗

Dehydroepiandrosterone protects mice from endotoxin toxicity and reduces tumor necrosis factor production.

Recent reports have demonstrated an immunomodulating activity of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) different from that described for glucocorticoids. The present study was designed to test DHEA's activity in endotoxic shock and to investigate its effect on endotoxin-induced production of tumor necrosis factor (TNF). Mortality of CD-1 mice exposed to a lethal dose of lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 800 micrograms per mouse) was reduced from 95 to 24% by treatment with a single dose of DHEA, given 5 min before LPS. LPS administration resulted in high levels of TNF, a response that was significantly blocked by DHEA, both in vivo and in vitro. DHEA treatment also reduced LPS-induced increments in serum corticosterone levels, a parameter considered not to be mediated by TNF. In another experimental model, mice sensitized with D-galactosamine, followed by administration of recombinant human TNF, were subjected to 89% mortality rate, which was reduced to 55% in DHEA-treated mice. These data show that DHEA protects mice from endotoxin lethality. The protective effect is probably mediated by reduction of TNF production as well as by effecting both TNF-induced and non-TNF-induced phenomena.

Animals↗

Stress-induced neuroinvasiveness of a neurovirulent noninvasive Sindbis virus in cold or isolation subjected mice.

Effects of cold or isolation stress on brain penetration by the neurovirulent noninvasive Sindbis virus strain (SVN) were studied in mice. SVN injected intracerebrally (i.c.) causes acute encephalitis and kills adult mice but is unable to invade the brain and kill when injected intraperitoneally (i.p.). Mice inoculated i.p. with SVN were exposed to cold stress or were singly housed. Both stress patterns induced SVN encephalitis and death in 42% (cold) and 37% (isolation) of the tested mice. No death was observed in the control injected mice. Brain virus levels were found to be more than 10(6) PFU in all dying mice. No virus was detected in the control group brains. The virus that was isolated from the brains of moribund mice demonstrated no changes in neuroinvasive and neurovirulent properties. We suggest a stress induced blood-brain-barrier opening with subsequent virus entrance as the mechanism of stress induced SVN encephalitis.

Animals↗

Mortality in Israel during the Persian Gulf war--initial observations.

During the 6-week-long 1991 Persian Gulf war, in which the civilian population was subjected to 18 separate missile attacks and the constant threat of nonconventional warfare, crude mortality rates in Israel were no higher than in the previous decade. Although the results are preliminary and need to undergo more sophisticated epidemiologic analysis, it appears that our population was able to tolerate the subacute period of psychological stress without excess mortality.

Cause of Death↗