2022 Impact Factor: 1.5
2023 CiteScore: 2.6
pISSN: 1735-1502
eISSN: 1735-5249
Chairman:
Mostafa Moin, M.D.
Editors-in-Chief:
Masoud Movahedi, M.D.
Vol 1, No 3 (2000)
Articles
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Elderly people experience significantly greater morbidity and mortality from infectious diseases than the general population. This apparent susceptibility to infection in the elderly has been attributed to a decline of immune function with age, termed "immune senescence." The main age-associated immune alterations can be listed as follows: (i) Thymic involution resulting in the decreased number of lymphoid precursor T cells, (ii) Reduced proliferative capacity of T cells to antigenic or mitogenic challenges, (iii) Qualitative deficiency of B cells with a reduced response to exogenous antigens, (iv) Alterations in the production and secretion of various cytokines, (v) Compromised activity of the accessory cells, both directly by depressing the chemotactic and phagocytic responses, and indirectly by increasing the prostaglandin production that inhibit the proliferation of T cells, (vi) Other factors like the general physiological conditions, the nutritional state, psychological habit and various hormone levels. The elderly are particularly susceptible to undernutrition that can be caused by a variety of factors including physiologic and psychologic that affect the desire to eat and pose physical or economic barriers that challenge healthy eating behavior. Clinical trials of nutritional supplementation have achieved varied outcomes. Mulitvitamin/mineral supplementation enhanced in vitro immune responses in most trials and clinical benefit in a few studies.
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Antigenicity of proteins found in cow's milk is age dependent. This is primarily due to infants possessing a more permeable intestinal wall than that in adults. Thus infants may acquire cow's milk allergy during their first year of life. While milk antigen specific IgE may cause allergy in susceptible subjects, there is some evidence indicating that milk antigen specific IgG may play some role in chronic disease development. The puropose of this study was to determine the antigenicity of cow's milk proteins in two animal models and to recommend the more sensitivie one, as an evaluation tool, to assess the antigenicity of a poteintial hypoallergenic formula. A crude extract of cow's milk was injected either to young male rabbits or BALB/C mice in four doses. Pure standard proteins of cow's milk were also injected to separate groups of animals to use their anti sera in later stages. The polyclonal pooled serum was then used to evaluate the antigenicity of the extract by indirect enzyme-linked immunossorbeni assay (LEISA). and Western blotting. Both the rabbit and BALB/C murine mode! demonstrated strong ELISA titres against casein and BSA proteins. However, the rabbit model also had a high antibody response against beta-lactoglobulin (/Mg). The lowest antibody response was found against alpha-kictalbumin («-la) in both animal models and no response against immunoglobulins (Igs) in either model. In Western blotting, rabbit antiserum showed four bands («-la, /Mg, caseins and BSA) compared to two bands (caseins and BSA) for mouse antiserum. Considering the allergenicity of these proteins in genetically prone subjects, it may be wise to exclude food sources of caseins as well as major whey proteins (BSA), from the diet of infants with a family history of atopy during the first year of life. The rabbit hyperimmunization model was more sensitive than the murine mode! in detecting antibodies against milk proteins. Thus, the rabbii model should be employed when evaluating the antigenicity of a hydro lysate formula.
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Primary Humoral Immunodeficiencies (PHID) are currently increasingly being recognized. Patients with PHID frequently show respiratory complications.
The objectives of the study is to determine the clinical spectrum of respiratory diseases in patients with PHID.
"We extracted data from the clinical files of patients with PHID, diagnosed according to WHO criteria. We encountered 125 patients (84 males), with the diagnosis of primary antibody deficiency including common-variable immunodeficiency (64 pts), x-linked agammaglobulinemia (29 pts), IgA deficiency (20 pts), IgG-subc!ass deficiency (8 pts), and hyper-IgM syndrome (4 pts). The mean age of the patients at the time of study was 11 years. In the evolution of their disease, 92 cases (73.6%) developed upper respiratory tract infections, among which acute otitis media (68 pts, 54.4%), sinusitis (61 pts, 48.8%), and pharyngitis (12 pts, 10.4%) were found to be the most frequent. Among the lower respiratory tract infections, pneumonia was the most common occurance (91 pts, 72.8%). The other lower respiratory tract complications were: bronchiectasis (22 pts, 17.6%), bronchitis (8 pts), tuberculosis (6 pts), lung abscess (4 pts), and Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (2 pts).
Respiratory infections constitute the most common presenting symptom of patients with primary humoral immunodeficiency. There may be some differences in the type and frequency of infections in each of these disorders. -
The presence of immune factors in inflamed dental pulps, suggests that immune responses could participate in disease process. With regard to the presence of significant number of mast cells in pulpitis cases, the purpose of this study was to determine the correlation between concentration and presence of IgE in supernatant fluids of explants cultures of different states of dental pulps.
For this purpose, a total of forty-eight pulpal samples were evaluated. They were 10, 10, 8, 11, and 9 pulpal samples from impacted teeth, normal erupted teeth, teeth with carious lesions, irreversible symptomatic pulpitis and irreversible asymptomatic pulpitis, respectively. The samples were maintained in explants cultures for 72 hours. Sandwich ELISA was used to detect and quantitate IgE in supernatant fluids.
It was shown that in impacted and carious samples, there were not any IgE. The presence of IgE in normal, symptomatic and asymptomatic samples were 30%, 45.5% and 55.6%, with average concentration of 0.063+0.02, 0.24±0.148 and 0.235 + 20.17 IU/ml, respectively.
Statistical analysis showed significant differences between different states of pulps with regard to presence of IgE ( P=0.0324). With regard to concentration of IgE, there were significant differences between impacted and symptomatic (P=0.0325); and carious and symptomatic (P=0.0397).
It is concluded that with increase in antigenic stimuli, there is a proper condition for production of IgE, as the highest presence of IgE was related to irreversible asymptomatic pulpitis. Bacterial by-products are possible allergens, which can induce the production of IgE. -
Hyper IgM syndrome (HIM SX) is a rare congenital primary immunodeficiency that affects males more than females (70%, x-Iinked recessive), but there are reports of autosomal recessive and autosomal dominant inheritances. In this study, we review medical histories of 2 affected girls and one affected boy. Our 3 cases fulfill clinical and laboratory criteria of this syndrome. Their clinical signs include recurrent pyogenic and opportunistic infections especilly in skin, respiratory and GI tracts, case 2 suffered from recurrent urinary tract infections too. Case 3 experienced P. carinii pnemonia during a severe neutropenic episode.
Other signs were 1- Autoimmunities as neutropenia, throbocytopenia, Coomb's positive hemolytic anemia and chronic parotitis in second case, 2- lymphoid hyperplasia presenting as generalized lymphadenopathies, hepatosplenomegaly and nodular lymphoid hyperplasia of intestine. Case 3, the 5 year old boy had an ataxic gait and suffered from recurrent herpetic keratoconjunctivitis and stomatitis. All the cases had very high serum levels of IgM (>1000 mg/dl) while other immunoglobulins were low. Sm IgM -f B lymphocytes were increased in the first two cases and CD40L on Tcell of the 3rd case was absent. Occurance of this syndrome in girls is a very rare phenomenon.
Presence of high or normal serum IgM level in a hypogammaglobulinemic patient should be a clue for diagnosing this syndrome and could be further confirmed either by studying CD40L/CD40 pathway or through a genetic survey. -
The measurment of various cytokines may provide a different tool for evaluation of the immune system. Recent investigations have shown that the number and function of peripheral natural killer cells (NK- cells) increase during early pregnancy in women with a history of unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortions (RSA). NK-cells activity may be responsible for some cases of RSA. The objective of this study was to assess the role of the Thl cytokines (IL-2, IFN-y, TNF-a ; TNF-/0 in this phenomenon, and detection of Thl cytokines in women with RSA. The control group consisted of 40 women with no history of pregnancy loss and complication. The abortion group comprised of 92 women having at least 3 pregnancy losses. Blood from the control group and women with RSA was taken at the end of first trimester of gestational age and at the time of abortion, respectively. Sera were separated and peripheral blood lymphocytes were challenged with PHA using RPMI medium. All samples were tested for concentration of Thl cytokines using ELISA methods. It was considered that sera from women with RSA produced higher concentration of TNF-«, TNF-/? , and IL-2 in comparison with sera from normal pregnant women (NPW) (P<0.001). We were not able to detect IL-2 in (NPW) whereas in 31% sera from RSA group, IL-2 was detectable (P<0.001). However, there was no significant difference between IFN-y, concentration in sera from patients and control group (P<0.182). Tissue culture supernatant from women with RSA also produced higher concentration of TNF-a. IFN-y, TNF-/* and IL2, than control group. These data may explain the increase NK-cells cytotoxicity during early pregnancy in women with a history of RSA. It may also provide a diagnostic tool to predict the outcome of pregnancy.
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For better management of asthma it is essential that patients adjust their treatment according to the medical plan developed by the health care professionals. To achieve this goal, patients should assess the severity of their disease regularly. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of regular measurement of peak expiratory flow and patient education on self management of asthma. Thirty asthmatic patients (15 as study and 15 as control group) were evaluated for a period of 2 months. Patients in the study group were given a Mini-Wright peak flow metre and instructed to measure their peak expiratory flow in the mornings and evenings daily and at the beginning and end of episodes of asthma symptoms (asthma attack). They were taught to use drugs and other self care actions to control asthma attack. Patients in the control group did not use the peak flow metre and were only instructed to assess asthma severity by subjective symptoms and self care strategies. The results showed that there were no significant differences between the two groups in peak expiratory flow, forced expiratory volume in 1 second, asthma severity score, usage of bronchodilator inhaler drugs (BD), and episodes of asthma attack at the beginning of study. However, ail parameters in the study gorup (P<0.001 for peak expiratory flow and asthma severity score and P<0.01 for FEV,, BD use and episodes of asthma attack), and only episodes of asthma attack in the control group (P<0.()03) were improved at the end of the study. These results suggest that regular PEF measurement is an effective tool for assessing episodes of asthma attack and selecting proper care actions in self management of asthma.
