Immune dysfunctions

Adenosine deaminase deficiency is associated with an immunodeficiency disease in which both thymus-derived lymphocytes (T cells) and bone marrow-derived lymphocytes (B cells) are sparse and dysfunctional. Purine nucleoside phosphorylase deficiency is associated with a severe deficiency of T cells but apparently normal B cell function. Immune dysfunctions appear to result from accumulation of dGTP and dATP, which inhibit ribonucleotide reductase and thereby deplete cells of DNA precursors. 

Distal sensory neuropathy AIDS Subacute or chronic Distal sensory loss and neuropathic pain depressed or absent ankle reflexes Immune dysfunction macrophage-mediated axonal injury... 

Seroconversion neuropathy Inflammatory demyelinating neuropathy Early pre-AIDS Acute Generalized systemic dlness, mononeuropathies Immune dysfunction... 

Acute inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculopathy Early pre-AIDS Acute Motor to sensory signs NCS show demyelinating features Immune dysfunction complement/macrophage-mediated demyelinating neuropathy... 

Autonomic neuropathy AIDS, sometimes early Subacute or chronic Orthostatic hypotension papillary abnormalities sweating dysfunction resting tachycardia Immune dysfunction macrophage-mediated sympathetic ganglia injury... 

Gartner S, Markovits P, Markovitz DM, Kaplan MH, Gallo RC, Popovic M (1986) The role of mononuclear phagocytes in HTLV-III/LAV infection. Science 233(4760) 215-219 Glaser R, Kiecolt-Glaser JK (2005) Stress-induced immune dysfunction Implications for health. Nat Rev Immunol 5(3) 243-251... 

The sterols and sterolins in rice bran are potent immunomodulators. The best response was obtained with a 100 1 sterol/sterolin mixture that demonstrated T-cell proliferation from 20% to 920% and active cell antigens after four weeks in human subjects (Bouic et al, 1996). Another in vitro experimental study with sterol/sterolins, demonstrated a significant increase in cytokinines, interleukin-2 and y-interferon between 17% and 41 % in addition to an increase in natural killer cell activity. These experiments (Bouic et al, 1996) prove that sterol/sterolins are potent immunomodulators with important implications for the treatment of immune dysfunction. Rice bran products are excellent dietary supplements for the improvement of immune function. It is probable that the effects of rice bran on diabetes, CVD and cancer all result from improved immune function. 

Empirical therapy should be directed at the most likely pathogen (s) for a specific patient, taking into account age, risk factors for infection (including underlying disease and immune dysfunction, vaccine history, and recent exposures), CSF Gram stain results, CSF antibiotic penetration, and local antimicrobial resistance patterns. 

Pascual, D.W. et al., Nitric oxide mediates immune dysfunction in the spontaneously hypertensive rat, Hypertension, 21, 185, 1992. 

Relationships Between Contaminants and Immune Dysfunction in Fishes... 

Glaser, R. and Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., Stress-induced immune dysfunction Implications for health, Nature Reviews. Immunology, 5, 243, 2005. 

Awareness of immunotoxicology was stimulated by a comprehensive review by Vos in 1977, in which he provided evidence that a broad spectrum of xenobiotics alter immune responses in laboratory animals and subsequently may affect the health of exposed individuals. Several additional reviews, as well as national and international scientific meetings, have reinforced these early observations. In several studies, alteration of immune function was accompanied by increased susceptibility to challenge with infectious agents or transplantable tumor cells, indicating the resulting immune dysfunction in altered host resistance. Clinical studies in humans exposed to xenobiotics have confirmed the parallelism with immune dysfunction observed in rodents. The latter sections in this volume describe studies with xenobiotics that resulted in immune modulation in rodents and man. 

In this interview Katy shares her view that chemical exposures can lead to an inability to tolerate stress, to loss of mental functioning, to fear and to violence. Since I met with her, two studies have been published that validate her remarks. One, a University of Wis-consin-Madison study published in the journal Toxicology and Industrial Health, January-March 1999, found that the pesticide-fertilizer mixtures commonly found in groundwater can affect patterns of aggression and the ability to learn, and causes hormone disruptions that increase sensitivity to stimuli, irritability and immune dysfunction. A University of Arizona study published by Environmental Health Perspectives in June 1998 showed a decrease in mental ability and an increase in aggressive behavior among children exposed to pesticides. 

Frequently, MCS involves imbalances in one s nervous, immune, and endocrine systems, and impaired detoxification abilities. Conditions such as CFIDS (Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome), fibromyalgia, and Candida Syndrome are frequently found in people with MCS. It is not yet known whether these are separate diseases or whether they represent different manifestations of a common underlying problem. 

The following is a brief explanation of some of the indicators that may be used to trigger additional definitive testing and a description of some of the most commonly used assays to assess humoral, cell-mediated, or nonspecific immune dysfunction, which are common to most immunotoxicology test strategies. 

Shearer, G. M., and Clerici, M., T helper cell immune dysfunction in asymptomatic HIV-1 seropositive individuals. Chem. Immunol. 54, 21-34 (1992). 

Humans can be exposed to POPs through diet, occupational exposures (for example, farmworkers may be exposed to POPs through pesticides), industrial accidents and the environment (including indoor exposure). Exposure to POPs, either acute or chronic, can be associated with a wide range of adverse health effects, including illness and death (L. Ritter et al., 1995). Laboratory animal studies and wildlife studies have associated POPs with endocrine disruption, reproductive and immune dysfunction, neurobehavioral disorders and cancer. More recently, some POPs have also been connected to reduced immunity in infants and children and a concomitant increase in infections. Other studies have linked POPS concentrations in humans with developmental abnormalities, neurobehavioral impairment and cancer and tumor induction or promotion.4... 

Autoimmune diseases and other immune dysfunctions (from May 20, 2008)... 

The cancer patient and the HIV-positive patient are the two clinically important groups were the natural defence systems are disturbed either by the disease or by the treatment (chemotherapy, radiotherapy). Infections in the HIV-positive patient are discussed in Chapter 33B. Less prevalent immunocompromised hosts are patients with hypo- or agamma-globulinaemia or patients after splenectomy. These last patient groups with mainly humoral dysfunction generally suffer from infections by encapsulated bacteria S. pneumoniae, H. influenzae and N. meningitidis). In this section we will discuss patients with cellular immune dysfunction, mainly granulocytopenia. 

Immune dysfunction and poor tumor-specific immune responses are observed in cancer patients with enhanced Treg cell activity. Furthermore, many different types of tumors possess high frequency of Treg cells that inhibit various immune functions including T-cell proliferation, cytokine production and cytotoxic activity. Trl cells also participate in a poor anticancer response. The infiltrating lymphocytes in Hodgkin s lymphoma contain both Treg and Trl cells that suppress various immune functions. 

Mattson M. P. (2002). Oxidative stress, perturbed calcium homeostasis, and immune dysfunction in Alzheimer s disease. J. Neurovirol. 8 539-550. 

Pycnogenol reduces the production of interleukin-6 and restores the activity of natural killer cells in retrovirus-infected animals. Pycnogenol delays the development of immune dysfunctions secondary to retrovirus infection by restoring the imbalanced cytokine secretion by T helper 1 and T helper 2 cells. 

A wide variety of techniques have been used to test immunologic competence and drug-induced immune dysfunction. The simplest tests that can be used to detect the effects of immunosuppressive or immunostimulating agents include the following ... 

In 1986 I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue immune dysfunction syndrome (CFIDS) and my whole life as I knew it changed. Before I got sick I was a word processor during the day, and after work and on weekends I was singing professionally in clubs and concerts and teaching music. But after I got sick I was spending most of my time in bed. 

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