The adjuvant effect of two lipophilic derivatives of muramyl dipeptide (MDP), B30-MDP and MDP-Lys(L18), on the ability of an inactivated vaccine of B-1 virus (B-1 vaccine) to induce immune response against Hantavirus causing hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) was examined. When mice were immunized subcutaneously (s.c.) twice at 2-week intervals with B-1 vaccine admixed with or without 100 micrograms mouse-1 of B30-MDP (B-1/B30-MDP) or MDP-Lys(L18) [B-1/MDP-Lys(L18)], mice immunized with B-1/B30-MDP as well as B-1/MDP-Lys(L18) showed significantly higher indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) titers against HFRS virus than mice immunized with B-1 vaccine alone. Both mice treated with B-1/B30-MDP and B-1/MDP-Lys(L18) also exhibited significantly higher neutralizing antibody titers against HFRS virus than mice immunized with B-1 vaccine alone during 3-9 weeks after the primary immunization. The evaluation of antibody-producing cells by enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay on week 4 revealed that both MDP derivatives enhanced the number of HFRS virus-specific IgG1 and IgM antibody-producing cells. Furthermore, mice treated with B-1/B30-MDP as well as B-1/MDP-Lys(L18) showed a higher level of Th-2 type cytokines, IL-4 and IL-6, in sera than mice treated with B-1 alone. In an in-vitro analysis of T lymphocyte proliferation to baculovirus-expressed recombinant nucleocapsid protein (rNP) of Hantaan 76-118 strain, the splenocytes of mice treated with B-1/B30-MDP and B-1/MDP-Lys(L18) on week 4 showed a significantly higher proliferating activity than those treated with B-1 vaccine alone. In addition, when mice were immunized once with B-1 vaccine admixed with or without B30-MDP and MDP-Lys(L18) and followed by intrafootpad (i.f.) injection of B-1 vaccine on day 7, mice immunized with B-1/B30-MDP and B-1/MDP-Lys(L18) induced a higher delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) reaction than mice immunized with B-1 vaccine alone. These results suggest that B30-MDP and MDP-Lys(L18) are useful immunoadjuvants to enhance the ability of inactivated B-1 vaccine to induce a humoral and cellular response to HFRS virus.

Acetylmuramyl-Alanyl-Isoglutamine↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Blink reflex excitability recovery curves in patients with dysfunctions after facial nerve palsy.

The blink reflex excitability recovery curves were studied in 12 patients with postparalytic facial dysfunctions (PPFD) and 12 healthy control subjects. The inhibitory effects of the conditioning stimuli on the ipsilateral R2 and contralateral R2 responses observed in control subjects were significantly less in patients with PPFD. The enhanced recovery of the R2 responses was similar on the affected side and unaffected side in the patients. These results indicate that patients with PPFD have an increased excitability of central interneurons which mediate the R2 pathway. It is suggested that not only changes in the peripheral facial nerve but also changes in the central nervous system may contribute to the onset of PPFD.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Stenosis of the internal auditory canal with VIIth and VIIIth cranial nerve dysfunctions.

We report the case of a 37-year-old woman with a history of long-standing right-sided sensorineural hearing loss who presented with an acute onset of vertigo and ipsilateral facial palsy. A computed tomographic scan study showed a stenosis of the right internal auditory canal (IAC). Neither generalized skeletal disease nor bony tumors, which may cause the IAC stenosis, were evident. The IAC stenosis found in this patient may be due to congenital malformation. Inflammation, compression or ischemia in the stenosed IAC may have resulted in the vertigo and facial palsy. This is the only case that we are aware of in which IAC stenosis is accompanied by vertigo and facial palsy.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Determining the pathway of the blink reflex through transcutaneous electrical stimulation of the facial nerve over the stylomastoid foramen.

The afferent pathway of the late response (R2 component) of the blink reflex in response to transcutaneous electrical stimulation of the facial nerve over the stylomastoid foramen remains uncertain. The two major hypotheses regarding the afferent pathway of R2 are that it may consist of either the trigemino-facial or the facio-facial reflex. This study was performed to determine the afferent pathway of R2. Ninety-one patients with acute unilateral peripheral facial palsy and 21 controls were studied. The degree of facial nerve damage was classified into three groups: mild, moderate, and severe according to their electroneurographic value. In each group, the appearance rate, latency, and area under the curve of contralateral R2 elicited by electrical stimulation of the injured facial nerve over the stylomastoid foramen were measured and compared with those of controls. The contralateral R2 parameters did not differ between the patient groups and the controls. The results indicate that the afferent pathway of R2 is mediated not only through the facial nerve. We conclude that the auriculotemporal nerve (V3) and the great auricular nerve (C2, C3) may also contribute to the afferent pathway of R2.

Blinking↗