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Results for “Transfer Factor”

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At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMed1978

No effect of transfer factor in juvenile rheumatoid arthritis by double-blind trial.

A previously pilot study of treatment with transfer factor in 3 patients with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) gave promising results. However, in this small and open study no definite conclusions could be drawn. Therefore, a double-blind group trial was performed in 12 JRA patients treated with transfer factor, and in 12 placebo-treated control patients. The patients were evaluated clinically, by laboratory tests, and by estimation of different lymphocyte populations and cell-mediated immunity in vitro and in vivo. Transfer factor was not found to be of significant therapeutic value in patients with JRA. The only statistically significant difference between the two groups was a greater reduction in the percentage of T lymphocytes in transfer factor-treated patients than in control patients. The significance of this is difficult to explain and could have appeared by chance. No side effects of treatment with transfer factor were noted.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

Immunotherapy of disseminated renal cell carcinoma with transfer factor.

Ten patients with disseminated renal cell carcinoma have been treated with transfer factor as an immunostimulant. In 5 patients with metastatic disease evident at the time of initial diagnosis treatment involved removal of the primary tumor followed by transfer factor therapy. Of these patients 3 had a temporary stabilization of metastatic disease. Three patients with recurrent metastatic disease after previous nephrectomy were treated, 2 of whom showed a temporary stabilization of metastatic disease. There were 2 additional patients without clinically evident metastases but at a high risk for recurrent disease who were treated and remain free of disease. We used 5 immunologic parameters to evaluate the clinical effects of transfer factor. No objective clinical regression was noted in any patient treated with measurable disease.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1991

Effect of exercise on lung transfer factor for CO in smokers.

The lung transfer factor for carbon monoxide was studied in 24 apparently healthy smokers and in 24 well-matched non-smokers at rest and during exercise. Single-breath and steady state (TLcoss) transfer factors for carbon monoxide, the Krogh constant, and the capillary blood volume were significantly lower in smokers. Exercise increased minute ventilation to a similar extent in both groups, but significantly lower values of TLcoss were measured in smokers than in non-smokers during mild and moderate grades of exercise (p less than 0.001). This difference in TLcoss may be attributed either to the difference in capillary blood volume or to increased inhomogeneities with regard to alveolar ventilation and perfusion due to airway damages in smokers, or to both factors.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Transfer factor as specific immunomodulator in the treatment of moderate-severe atopic dermatitis].

BACKGROUND: Atopic dermatitis is a skin inflammatory disease which has been associated to high levels of IgE, eosinophiles and change of T lymphocytes. The transfer factor is an immunomodulator active substance and decreases the number of inflammatory cells and the severity of the symptoms of atopic dermatitis. OBJECTIVE: To determine the efficacy of the transfer factor as treatment of moderate and severe atopic dermatitis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Articles related to treatment with transfer factor in the atopic dermatitis were looked up in Medline and EMBASE, and the ones referring to controlled studies in patients with moderate and severe atopic dermatitis in accord to SCORAD. RESULTS: We found seven articles with 121 patients and 88 controls demonstrating significant decrease in the symptoms of the SCORAD index, decreased IgE, and eosinophils in patients treated with transfer factor. CONCLUSIONS: The transfer factor is a choice treatment for moderate and severe atopic dermatitis.

Dermatitis, Atopic↗
PubMed1978

The usefulness of transfer factor in asthma associated with frequent infections.

Fifteen patients underwent controlled trial with transfer factor for repeated infections and severe asthma. Marked decrease in respiratory infections and striking improvement in asthma resulted. The authors suggest that transfer factor may reconstitute immune function, thus representing a unique approach to severe asthma associated with frequent infections.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Investigations of transfer factor activity in resistance to Trichostrongylus colubriformis infections in guinea-pigs.

Resistance to challenge infection with Trichostrongylus colubriformis was studied in an outbred strain of guinea-pigs. Resistance was conferred by previous infections of 50 or 100 infective larvae and by intraperitoneal, intramuscular and subcutaneous administration of dialysed transfer factor prepared from guniea-pigs infected with T. colubriformis, by intraperitoneal administration of transfer factor prepared from the blood of sheep infected with T. colubriformis and on one of three occasions using transfer factor prepared from guinea-pigs which had not been infected with T. colubriformis. No significant resistance was transferred by administration of antigen prepared from adult T. colubriformis, or by non-dialysed transfer factor, or by dialysed transfer factor prepared from T. colubriformis-infected guinea-pig tissue which had been stored for several months at - 20 degrees C.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Environmental processes affecting plant root uptake of radioactive trace elements and variability of transfer factor data: a review.

Soil-to-plant transfer factors are commonly used to estimate the food chain transfer of radionuclides. Their definition assumes that the concentration of a radionuclide in a plant relates linearly solely to its average concentration in the rooting zone of the soil. However, the large range of transfer factors reported in the literature shows that the concentration of a radionuclide in a soil is not the only factor influencing its uptake by a plant. With emphasis on radiocesium and -strontium, this paper reviews the effects of competition with major ions present in the soil-plant system, the effects of rhizosphere processes and soil micro-organisms on bioavailability, the factors influencing transport to and uptake by roots and the processes affecting long-term uptake rates. Attention is given to summarizing the results of recent novel electrophysiological and genetic techniques which provide a physiologically based understanding of the processes involved in the uptake and translocation of radiocesium and -strontium by plants.

Biological Availability↗
PubMed1972

Transfer factor from guinea pigs sensitive to dinitrochlorobenzene: absence of superantigen properties.

Transfer factor from guinea pigs sensitive to dinitrochlorobenzene was not bound to an immunoadsorbent column that is specific for the dinitrophenyl determinant. The absence of the dinitrophenyl determinant on transfer factor suggested that the factor does not function as superantigen. The duration of the adoptive sensitivity, the small molecular weight, and the polypeptide or polynucleotide (or a combination) composition of the transfer factor are consistent with a derepressor function of the molecule.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Increase in E-rosettes after transfer factor (TF) treatment: fractionation of TF.

The effect of transfer factor (TF) on E-rosettes (ER) was studied in vivo in a patient with Hodgkin's disease. Transfer factor was given in doses of 10 units/sq m intramuscularly. The ER forming cells and the ER scores were determined. The ER score method took into account the number of erythrocytes in each rosette. The increase in ER score was maximum at 24 hours and it declined during the following one to two weeks. It was suggested that TF may have to be given more frequently than indicated by the persistence of skin reactivity. TF was fractionated with high pressure liquid chromatography. Fraction 2 increased ER in a patient with Schwannoma. Non-specificity of TF was also discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1975

Osteogenic sarcoma. Immunologic parameters before and during immunotherapy with tumor-specific transfer factor.

18 patients with osteogenic sarcoma were followed by serial measurements in vitro of tumor-specific cell-mediated cytotoxicity and of "active" and total rosette-forming T-cells. 13 of these patients have had or are currently receiving injections of osteogenic sarcoma-specific dialyzable transfer factor derived from healthy donors. In three patients with very small lesions, cytotoxicity was high before amputation and decreased within 2 mo after removal of tumor. Cytotoxicity was low at time of diagnosis in all patients with large tumor masses. The cytotoxicity of the patients' lymphocytes increased after administration of tumor-specific transfer factor in all patients so treated. Patients receiving nonspecific transfer factor showed evidence of declining cell-mediated cytotoxicity. Tumor-specific transfer factor may produce an increase in cell-mediated cytotoxicity to the tumor in patients with osteogenic sarcoma. This possibility is suggested by the pain and edema that occurred in the area of the tumor in patients who had metastatic disease when therapy was started and by lymphocytic infiltrates in the tumor, as well as by the increase in cell-mediated cytotoxicity and the increase in percentage of active rosette-forming cells from subnormal to normal. Serial measurements of cell-mediated cytotoxicity are helpful in monitoring the efficacy of transfer factor and other modes of therapy in these patients, and these measurements are the best available criteria for selection of donors of tumor-specific transfer factor.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1976

Transfer factor versus combination chemotherapy: a preliminary report of a randomized postsurgical adjuvant treatment study in osteogenic sarcoma.

Twenty-six patients with classic osteosarcoma were randomized to receive either transfer factor or combination chemotherapy. Eight of 14 patients who received transfer factor converted their skin test markers, evidence of activity of the transfer factor. Of these eight patients, all are alive; four are free of disease. Of the 18 patients who received combination chemotherapy, 14 are alive, 12 of whom are free of disease. The immunologic test procedures performed sequentially reveal that transfer factor appears to enhance cell-mediated immunity, but it is evident that in this study, a control (saline) arm in the protocol could not be included. It is of interest that the chemotherapy regimen used does not appear to suppress such activity permanently. The individual test results, however, are not very helpful for predicting response to treatment. The small numbers of patients and the short duration of this study, combined with the exclusion of parosteal osteogenic sarcomas and jaw tumors, do not permit a meaningful comparison with other published studies.

Antineoplastic Agents↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[The biological activity of the transfer factor induced by bacterial antigens].

Today's statement of transfer factor, an immunostimulator derived from leukocytes which enhances antiinfectious immunity, is observed in the review. Basic biological, physical and chemical characteristics of the transfer factor, its possible action mechanisms, and laboratory and clinical methods of use to cure infectious fungal (Candida, Coccidium), invasive (schistosomiasis, leishmaniasis, cryptosporidiosis), viral (varicella zoster, ophthalmic herpes, Herpes simplex types 1 and 2, H. zoster, H. simplex ceratitis, genital herpes, human herpes virus type 6, postherpetic neuritis, hepatitis B, AIDS), and bacterial infections (Mycobacterium leprae, M. tuberculosis, M. fortuitum, Salmonella cholerae suis, S. dublin, S. Virchov, Brucella abortus, Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, bacterial sepsis, Staphylococcus) are described.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Transfer factor therapy: evidence for nonspecificity.

Four patients were treated with multiple doses of dialyzed transfer factor in which one Wiskott-Aldrich patient with abnormal IgG monocyte receptors obtained benefit. All patients converted skin reactivity, and had improved in vitro lymphocyte responses to varying degrees. Three patients developed positive reactivity to allogeneic cells in MLC, and one patient developed DNCB reactivity. These latter two findings suggest transfer factor may act by inducing a nonspecific maturation of lymphocyte function. A possible mechanism for the action of transfer factor is discussed.

Antibody Formation↗
PubMed1975

The use of transfer factor in a patient with agammaglobulinemia.

We have studied a 9-year-old boy with agammaglobulinemia treated for the past 6 years with exogenous gamma-globulin who was noted to have an immunoglobulin (Ig)M level of 35 mg/100 ml and circulating B cells as determined by immunofluorescence. Of the circulating lymphocytes, 41% had alpha-immunoglobulin heavy chains, 3% gamma chains, and 3% mu chains. Synthesis of gamma heavy chain classes showing wide heterogeneity and alpha and mu chains of restricted mobility was demonstrated by radioimmunoelectrophoresis. Because of the patient's poor clinical response to exogenous gamma-globulin administration and the paradoxic presence of circulating B cells, with the capacity to synthesize immunoglobulins in vitro, we elected to begin a course of therapy with transfer factor. After the initial four doses of transfer factor (2 x 10(8) lymphocytes/dose) his serum IgG rose from 50 to 130 mg/100 ml, the same level which he had previously attained during continuous exogenous gamma-globulin therapy. His serum IgG has remained at this level for the past 12 months with trimonthly booster doses of transfer factor. The patient has not required any additional gamma-globulin therapy and he has remained clinically asymptomatic. Our studies in a patient with agammaglobulinemia have shown that transfer factor therapy may affect immunoglobulin synthesis. The concurrent discontinuation of exogenous gamma-globulin administration makes it difficult to attribute the changes to only one or another aspect of therapy. We await further reports of the effects of transfer factor in the therapy of patients with B cell disorders.

Agammaglobulinemia↗
PubMed1980

Adjuvant immunotherapy with transfer factor in patients with melanoma metastatic to lung.

Nine patients with resectable pulmonary metastases of malignant melanoma were treated with surgery and transfer factor. Twelve months after thoracotomy, all were alive. After a median follow-up of 20 months, only one patient had died. Historic, other-center controls treated with surgery alone had a significantly (p less than 0.025) lower survival rate. Recurrence rates tended to be lower in the transfer factor group, but the differences were not significant. These results suggest that transfer factor may prolong survival in patients with an immunologically responsive malignancy and a small residual tumor burden.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

[Transfer factor in diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis. Experience with one case].

Transfer factor was administered in one case of Diffuse Cutaneous Leishmaniasis ("DCL") with minimal therapeutical results after two courses of ten doses each. The patient was 34-year-old white man, born in the State of Pará --Amazon-- region, goldwasher, his disease started 9 years ago and consisted of disseminated papular and nodular lesions, some of them secondarily ulcerated and more closely clustered over the knees elbows and dorsa of the hands. Physical examination was normal except for the skin lesions and a perforation of the nasal septum. Some intradermal tests (Paracoccidiodin, Lepromin and PPD) were positive while the Montenegro (leishmanin) reaction was negative. Increased levels of IgG and IgM were found; IgA was normal even after the treatment. Transfer Factor was obtained from leishmanin positive and PPD strong reactors and the method of preparation is described. By the end of the first ten-doses course, lesions were reduced to dark atrophic residual macules but the histological sections displayed a surprising amount of parasites, predicting unavoidable relapse. For the second series, as the patient refused to be given Amphotericin B he was treated with hot baths and levamisole was administered in a 150 mg daily dosage and 45 days cycles. The leishmanin intradermal test did not became positive after the treatment and this fact is discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Soil-to-plant transfer factors for natural radionuclides and stable elements in a Mediterranean area.

The transfer factors (TF) for natural uranium isotopes (238U and 234U), thorium isotopes (232Th, 230Th and 228Th), and 226Ra were obtained in plant samples (grass-pasture) growing in granitic and alluvial soils around a disused uranium mine located in the Extremadura region in the south-west of Spain. Affected and non-affected areas of the mine presented large differences in the activity concentrations of radionuclides of the uranium series. We also determined transfer factors for several stable elements (essential and non-essential). A set of statistical tests were applied to validate the data. The results showed that the transfer factors for both the natural radionuclides and the stable elements are independent of the two substrate types involved and also of the two areas considered in the study.

Environmental Monitoring↗
PubMed1976

Human transfer factor: fractionation and biologic activity.

Human transfer factor (TF) was fractionated by exclusion chromatography and the fractions were tested for biologic activity in vivo and in vitro. Specific TF activity in vivo was found to reside in the major UV-absorbing peak (Fraction III). Fraction III eluted at 2.7 X V(O) and transferred tuberculin, candida, or KLH-reactivity to previously negative recipients. Fraction III from nonreactive donors was ineffective. When the fractions were tested in vitro, we found that both the mitogenic activity of whole TF and the suppressive activity to mitogen activation when present in TF was found in Fraction I. Fraction III contained components responsible for augmentation of PHA and PWM responses. In addition, Fraction III contained the component responsible for antigen-dependent augmentation of lymphocyte transformation. Fraction IV was suppressive to antigen-induced lymphocyte transformation. These data suggest that TF preparations contain components which can affect immune reactions in both specific and nonspecific ways.

Antigens↗