Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Behavioral immune system”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 235 records · Page 13Linked to original sources
PubMed1984

Alzheimer's disease: a study of epidemiological aspects.

A case-control study was performed to determine the possible roles of various environmental factors, prior illnesses, drug use, and personal habits in the development of Alzheimer's disease. Such information was collected from 40 patients with onset of dementia prior to age 70 and from 80 community control subjects matched for age, sex, and race. No significant differences were found between patients and control subjects in toxic environmental exposures, animal contacts, smoking, drinking, or unusual dietary habits. A significantly higher frequency of prior thyroid disease was found in women patients than in women control subjects (25.0% and 7.1%, respectively). A history of severe head injury was also obtained significantly more often among the patients than among the controls (15.0% and 3.8%, respectively). Aside from these differences, which may prove to be important associative factors in this illness, there appeared to be no major premorbid demographic or clinical factors associated with this form of dementia. There was evidence, however, of a genetic factor that was manifested in an excess of dementia and mental retardation (including Down's syndrome) in families of patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer Disease↗
PubMed2005

Effect of dexamethasone on immune response of mice with different behavioral types.

Experiments on a model of paired sensory contact showed that dexamethasone effectively suppressing the response to ACTH not only prevented immunosuppression in male C57Bl/6J mice with submissive behavior formed during different periods of confrontation testing (days 10 and 20), but also stimulated the immune response in comparison with the control. Immune response in aggressive animals after 20-day confrontations was higher than in controls and submissive mice and did not change after dexamethasone injection. The authors conclude that the immunosuppressive effect in submissive animals is realized through ACTH, which little contributes into immunomodulation in aggressive mice.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗
PubMed2003

Activity of cell immune response and open field behavior in Wistar and OXYS rats.

The state of the thymus, activity of cell-mediated immunity, and open field behavior were compared in Wistar and OXYS rats (premature aging). Early involution of the thymus was revealed in OXYS rats, which by the type of morphological changes corresponded to accidental involution and was associated with low level of delayed hypersensitivity reaction and decreased motor and exploratory behavior.

Aging, Premature↗
PubMed2001

The multifaceted and widespread pathology of magnesium deficiency.

Even though Mg is by far the least abundant serum electrolyte, it is extremely important for the metabolism of Ca, K, P, Zn, Cu, Fe, Na, Pb, Cd, HCl, acetylcholine, and nitric oxide (NO), for many enzymes, for the intracellular homeostasis and for activation of thiamine and therefore, for a very wide gamut of crucial body functions. Unfortunately, Mg absorption and elimination depend on a very large number of variables, at least one of which often goes awry, leading to a Mg deficiency that can present with many signs and symptoms. Mg absorption requires plenty of Mg in the diet, Se, parathyroid hormone (PTH) and vitamins B6 and D. Furthermore, it is hindered by excess fat. On the other hand, Mg levels are decreased by excess ethanol, salt, phosphoric acid (sodas) and coffee intake, by profuse sweating, by intense, prolonged stress, by excessive menstruation and vaginal flux, by diuretics and other drugs and by certain parasites (pinworms). The very small probability that all the variables affecting Mg levels will behave favorably, results in a high probability of a gradually intensifying Mg deficiency. It is highly regrettable that the deficiency of such an inexpensive, low-toxicity nutrient result in diseases that cause incalculable suffering and expense throughout the world. The range of pathologies associated with Mg deficiency is staggering: hypertension (cardiovascular disease, kidney and liver damage, etc.), peroxynitrite damage (migraine, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, Alzheimer's disease, etc.), recurrent bacterial infection due to low levels of nitric oxide in the cavities (sinuses, vagina, middle ear, lungs, throat, etc.), fungal infections due to a depressed immune system, thiamine deactivation (low gastric acid, behavioral disorders, etc.), premenstrual syndrome, Ca deficiency (osteoporosis, hypertension, mood swings, etc.), tooth cavities, hearing loss, diabetes type II, cramps, muscle weakness, impotence (lack of NO), aggression (lack of NO), fibromas, K deficiency (arrhythmia, hypertension, some forms of cancer), Fe accumulation, etc. Finally, because there are so many variables involved in the Mg metabolism, evaluating the effect of Mg in many diseases has frustrated many researchers who have simply tried supplementation with Mg, without undertaking the task of ensuring its absorption and preventing excessive elimination, rendering the study of Mg deficiency much more difficult than for most other nutrients.

Humans↗
PubMed2004

Progesterone: the forgotten hormone in men?

'Classical' genomic progesterone receptors appear relatively late in phylogenesis, i.e. it is only in birds and mammals that they are detectable. In the different species, they mediate manifold effects regarding the differentiation of target organ functions, mainly in the reproductive system. Surprisingly, we know little about the physiology, endocrinology, and pharmacology of progesterone and progestins in male gender or men respectively, despite the fact that, as to progesterone secretion and serum progesterone levels, there are no great quantitative differences between men and women (at least outside the luteal phase). In a prospective cohort study of 1026 men with and without cardiovascular disease, we were not able to demonstrate any age-dependent change in serum progesterone concentrations. Progesterone influences spermiogenesis, sperm capacitation/acrosome reaction and testosterone biosynthesis in the Leydig cells. Other progesterone effects in men include those on the central nervous system (CNS) (mainly mediated by 5alpha-reduced progesterone metabolites as so-called neurosteroids), including blocking of gonadotropin secretion, sleep improvement, and effects on tumors in the CNS (meningioma, fibroma), as well as effects on the immune system, cardiovascular system, kidney function, adipose tissue, behavior, and respiratory system. A progestin may stimulate weight gain and appetite in men as well as in women. The detection of progesterone receptor isoforms would have a highly diagnostic value in prostate pathology (benign prostatic hypertrophy and prostate cancer). The modulation of progesterone effects on typical male targets is connected with a great pharmacodynamic variability. The reason for this is that, in men, some important effects of progesterone are mediated non-genomically through different molecular biological modes of action. Therefore, the precise therapeutic manipulation of progesterone actions in the male requires completely new endocrine-pharmacological approaches.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Alcohol, AIDS and immunity.

In order to understand the potential impact of alcohol consumption on the course of the HIV/AIDS pandemic we examine at least 3 very different debates. In an attempt to summarise these debates we assess the impact of alcohol consumption on numerous aspects of HIV infection, including the relationship between alcohol use and likelihood of engagement in 'unsafe' sexual behaviour; the impact of alcohol on immune function and its importance as a co-factor for AIDS-related illness. We argue that, contrary to popular belief, the consumption of alcohol does not appear to make individuals more likely to engage in unsafe sex. Furthermore, while alcohol has clearly been proven to effect immune function in vivo and in vitro there is no clear evidence that it plays any part in individuals' susceptibility to HIV infection or has any effect on disease progression among persons with HIV infection. Clearly some of this research is in its infancy and such conclusions should be treated with caution.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The promise of adrenergic receptor studies in psychophysiologic research II: Applications, limitations, and progress.

For years research in fields such as biologic psychiatry and hypertension has benefited from the use of receptor measures. It is only recently however, that investigators in the field of psychosomatic medicine have taken advantage of this methodology. Much of this research revolves around discerning the roles that adrenergic receptors play in stressful events and stress-related behaviors. Thus far, psychosomatic studies have focused primarily on three areas: 1) The effects of psychosocial stressors on adrenergic receptor function, 2) the relationship between adrenergic receptors and cardiovascular responses to stressors, and 3) the relationship between adrenergic receptor measures and coronary-prone behaviors. Although several important methodological issues need to be addressed, current studies are helping to decipher longstanding questions regarding the complex processes underlying behavior, stress, immunity, and the sympathetic nervous system. This paper reviews the progress and limitations of this research blossoming field.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Phylodynamic analysis of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 in distinct brain compartments provides a model for the neuropathogenesis of AIDS.

"Phylodynamic" analysis combines various statistical procedures that can be used to correlate the epidemiological and evolutionary behavior of viral pathogens with the immune system of the host. We utilized this approach to examine human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) gp120 envelope DNA sequences (V1, V2, and V3) isolated from different brain compartments of a T-cell-depleted patient diagnosed with severe HIV-associated dementia at the time of death. In agreement with previous reports, phylogenetic analysis showed distinct virodemes but also revealed a significant amount of viral gene flow among different brain compartments. Local-molecular-clock analysis showed that HIV-1 meninges and temporal lobe subpopulations evolve about 30 and 100 times faster, respectively, than the other viral populations in the brain. However, maximum likelihood codon-based substitution models did not detect any site under significant positive selective pressure, and the main cause of HIV-1 genetic variation appeared to be random genetic drift. Therefore, the higher evolutionary rate in the meninges and temporal lobe could be due to an enhanced infection/expansion rate of macrophages as a consequence of the immune system failure. In conclusion, in this case study, viral infection in the brain progressed with a nonspecific genetic evolution, recurrent migration events, and an expansion of macrophage-tropic sequences. The data suggest that after immune failure newly produced viral variants, which would be rapidly cleared under normal conditions, begin to productively infect macrophages in a "self-amplifying" cycle of infection/inflammatory response that could be at the origin of HIV-associated dementia.

AIDS Dementia Complex↗
PubMed1991

Immunological and behavioral effects of fragrance in mice.

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of olfactory stimulation on immunological and behavioral states in mice. Anti-SRBC (IgM) plaque forming cell (PFC) count and spontaneous running activity (SRA) were measured to demonstrate the effects of exposure to a given fragrance. The decreased PFC count and thymic involution induced by high pressure stress in mice were recovered after exposing the stressed mice to the fragrance continuously for 4 days after the stress was given. The PFC and SRA also appeared to be maintained at normal levels by oflactory stimulation with the fragrance for 24 hrs after the given stress. The immunological suppression induced by high pressure stress was considered to be caused by the induction and activation of suppressor cells. However, exposure to the fragrance after the stress did not enhance suppressor activity. The restoration of the stress-induced immune suppression by olfactory stimulation was blocked by procain administration onto the olfactory cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Cancer anorexia-cachexia syndrome: are neuropeptides the key?

Progressive wasting is common in many types of cancer and is one of the most important factors leading to early death in cancer patients. Weight loss is a potent stimulus to food intake in normal humans and animals. The persistence of anorexia in cancer patients, therefore, implies a failure of this adaptive feeding response, although the weight loss in the patients differs from that found in simple starvation. Tremendous progress has been made in the last 5 years with regard to the regulation of feeding and body weight. It has been demonstrated that leptin, a hormone secreted by adipose tissue, is an integral component of the homeostatic loop of body weight regulation. Leptin acts to control food intake and energy expenditure via neuropeptidergic effector molecules within the hypothalamus. Complex interactions among the nervous, endocrine, and immune systems affect the loop and induce behavioral and metabolic responses. A number of cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukins 1 and 6, IFN-gamma, leukemia inhibitory factor, and ciliary neurotrophic factor have been proposed as mediators of the cachectic process. Cytokines may play a pivotal role in long-term inhibition of feeding by mimicking the hypothalamic effect of excessive negative feedback signaling from leptin. This could be done by persistent stimulation of anorexigenic neuropeptides such as corticotropin-releasing factor, as well as by inhibition of the neuropeptide Y orexigenic network that consists of opioid peptides and galanin, in addition to the newly identified melanin-concentrating hormone, orexin, and agouti-related peptide. Information is being gathered, although it is still insufficient, on such abnormalities in the hypothalamic neuropeptide circuitry in tumor-bearing animals that coincide with the development of anorexia and cachexia. Characterization of the feeding-associated gene products have revealed new biochemical pathways and molecular targets for pharmacological intervention that will likely lead to new treatments. Although therapeutic intervention using neuropeptide agonists/antagonists is now directed at obesity treatment, it may also have an effect on treating cancer anorexia-cachexia, especially when combined with other agents that have effects on muscle and protein breakdown.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Endocrine-metabolic disturbances in chronic stress].

This review focuses on the neuroendocrine infrastructure of the adaptive response to chronic stress and on its concerted effects on behavior, the major endocrine axes and immune systems. Cytokines such as TNF-alpha, IL-1, and IL-6 and other humoral mediators of inflammation are potent activators of central stress-responsive neurotransmitter systems, constituting the afferent limb of a feedback loop from the immune/inflammatory system to the central nervous system. Steroid hormones influence a variety of neuroendocrine events, including brain development, sexual differentiation and reproduction. Hormones elicit many of these effects by binding to neuronal steroid receptors, which are members of a nuclear receptor superfamily of transcriptional activators. Nuclear receptor coactivators enhance the transcriptional activity of steroid receptors.

Chronic Disease↗
PubMed1995

[Behavior of Orf virus in permissive and nonpermissive systems].

Dogs were immunized i.m. with attenuated poxvirus vaccines (vaccinia virus, Orf-virus) and a bovine herpesvirus-1 (BHV-1) vaccine. After intradermal (i.d.) application of the vaccine viruses a specific delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) reaction of the skin occurred only with vaccinia virus. The i.d. application of Orf-virus caused a short-term, non-specific inflammatory reaction of the skin, even in dogs not immunized with Orf-virus. Out of 30 sera from Orf-virus immunized beagles (n = 4) only eight were found reactive to Orf-virus in a competition ELISA. Three sera from dogs not Orf-virus immunized but skin-tested with the virus contained low antibody titers. Using indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) in flow cytometry, the existence of Orf-virus antigens was examined on the surface and in the cytoplasm of permissive (BFK and Vero)- and questionable permissive MDCK cells. The canine kidney MDCK cell line was found to be non-permissive for Orf-virus replication; the occurrence of an Orf-(ecthyma contagiosum) like disease in dogs is unlikely.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[The inverse immunoregulation of behavior and the problem of the existence of regulatory autoantibodies].

This paper analyzes the effects of active immunization against endogenic neuromediators, neuroregulators, enzymes (catecholamines, serotonin, various regulatory peptides, alcohol dehydrogenase) on a physiological status of the body. It is indicated that such an immunization results in a decreased level (activity) of some regulatory endogenic agents and accordingly to the long-term changes in physiological functions of the body including such complex as behavior of animals. The data given in this paper on the long-term experimental immunologic correction of such the forms of pathologic states as alcoholism, increased convulsive alertness, competitive behavior, phobias are indicative of both fundamental and applied aspects of using inverse immunoregulation method.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Eating disorders: a situation of malnutrition with peculiar changes in the immune system.

Eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, are significant public health concerns for a great deal of the population, and thus are even considered to be epidemics. These syndromes have a common aim: the pursuit of a desirable and extremely low weight, which is obviously very far from the ideal body weight. Therefore, these patients show abnormal food behavior, leading to a situation of malnutrition. Nutrients play an important role in the development and functionality of the immune system. Thus, the assessment of immunological parameters acquires great interest as a useful tool to evaluate the nutritional status of these patients. In addition, it is very well known that a depleted immune system as a consequence of malnutrition is linked to an increased susceptibility to infections. However, an extensive literature has pointed out that anorexic patients, even though severely malnourished, are relatively free from infectious diseases. As the immune system is altered by distorted food behaviors, such as in case of eating disorders, the awareness of the characteristics of other systems involved in these pathologies, and therefore altered, would be very helpful for the understanding of the mechanisms triggered in these syndromes. In fact, the interactions among the immune system and the remaining systems in eating disorders are beginning to be studied. Finally, the main goal is to limit the evolution of these illnesses through an early diagnosis and appropriate therapy to subsequently get a constant and definitive cure for the patients.

Anorexia Nervosa↗