RATIONALE: OM-85 BV, an immunostimulant made from bacterial extracts, has been shown to reduce the risk of hospitalization for acute exacerbation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, as well as to reduce the length of stay for all hospitalizations. METHODS: In conjunction with a placebo controlled, randomized clinical trial, a cost effectiveness analysis was carried out to assess the economic impact of using OM-85 BV. In the analysis, effectiveness was defined as the difference in the number of severe acute exacerbations, assessed by the number of hospitalizations for a respiratory problem, between the placebo and OM-85 BV-treated groups. RESULTS: The median cost to prevent one day of hospitalization for a respiratory condition was CDN$45, with a 95% CI of CDN$18 to CDN$210. Bootstrap of the study population and sensitivity analyses showed that the results were robust and not likely due to random fluctuation; 98.8% of the cost effectiveness and 96.8% of the cost-benefit ratios favoured the use of OM-85 BV. Indirect costs, defined as a need for help, were reduced by 36% in the group treated with OM-85 BV: 779 h of help compared with 1212 h in the placebo group. This trend, while not significant, is consistent with other results and suggests a decrease in the severity of exacerbations in the OM-85 BV-treated group. CONCLUSION: Given the high prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease worldwide and the high cost of acute exacerbations, immunostimulants may become a key element in the improved control of this condition.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Antibodies to lactate dehydrogenase of Plasmodium knowlesi are specific to Plasmodium species.

Polyclonal immune monkey serum raised against schizonts of Plasmodium knowlesi (H-strain) showed the presence of antibodies to lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) of P. knowlesi by immunodot enzyme staining method. The anti-LDH antibodies are most probably directed towards an epitope distinct from the catalytic site as shown by the specific enzyme staining of LDH after binding with antibody on nitrocellulose paper. These antibodies showed reactivity with LDH from different strains (H, P and W1 strains of P. knowlesi) and species (P. cynomolgi B, P. berghei, P. yoelii, P. falciparum and P. vivax) of malarial parasites but did not cross-react with three isoenzymic forms of mammalian LDH (A4, B4 and C4) as well as with LDH from some protozoan and helminth parasites. These findings suggest that the anti-LDH antibodies have defined specificity to Plasmodium spp.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Decreases of brain serotonin following a food restriction schedule of 4 weeks in male and female rats.

Male and female rats fed on a restricted feeding (RF) schedule of 4 weeks to produce 20-25% reduction in body weight, were killed before (starved) and after (fed) the presentation of food to compare 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) metabolism in the hypothalamus with respective freely feeding (FF) controls and to monitor sex differences in RF-induced changes of 5-HT. RF decreased plasma tryptophan concentration in RF starved and RF fed females and also in RF starved males. In the hypothalamus tryptophan levels decreased in RF starved and RF fed female rats and RF fed males. 5-HT decreased in both RF starved and RF fed male and female rats and the decreases were comparable in the two sexes. 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), a major metabolite of 5-HT was not affected. Food restriction decreased 5-HT concentration in the rest of the brain of male but not female rats. Possible implications of the findings in the pathogenesis of food restriction/starvation related disease anorexia nervosa and its greater occurrence in women than men is discussed.

Animals↗