Immune system dysfunction

It is known that zinc and cooper play an important role in immune system functioning (Kelley et al., 1995 Skalny and Rudakov, 2004 Zinc, 2001). Deficiency of these metals causes immune system dysfunctions. Recently these dysfunctions are seen to be widely distributed, especially in children. It is known also that sensitivity of the immune system to external influences differs in different age periods and it was found (Evstafyeva et al., 2002) that the influence of toxic metals is more significant in 7-11-year-old urbanized children. At the same time zinc and cooper deficiency was found in 1-6-year-old children, zinc deficiency and copper lowered contents, in... 

Deficiency can lead to cancer and immune system dysfunction Stabilizes proteins used in the immune system Promotes membrane binding that is essential for proper protein localization or biological function May hinder progression of adrenoleukodystrophy Reduces low-density lipoprotein in the blood Reduces platelet stickiness and protects against coronary heart disease... 

Type 11 vitamin D-resistant rickets is characterized by a lack of responsiveness of target tissues to calcitriol and is caused by a genetic defect in the calcitriol receptor. Affected children develop more or less normally until about 9 months of age, then develop severe rickets with alopecia and a wide variety of disorders, including immune system dysfunction. Three variants are known ... 

Nevertheless, despite the difficulties, there are intriguing findings that have shengthened the hypothesis that neuro-immune interactions are altered in schizophrenia patients. One argument for an association between immune function and schizophrenia is that epidemiological data show a linkage between prenatal viral infections and subsequent appearance of schizophrenia. There have also been studies that show an acute exacerbation of schizophrenia can occur in response to immune system dysfunction. These have been reviewed (Rapaport and Muller, 2001). The most extensively examined idea is that schizophrenia is associated with autoimmune diseases or that schizophrenia may, in certain instances, be associated with a lack of normal autoimmune function (Gaughran, 2002 Jones et al., 2005 Kipnis et al., 2006). 

CFS, also known as Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS), is a multisystem disorder with unknown etiology or pathophysiology. It is currently thought that CFS is a multifactorial condition in which an infective agent causes an aberrant immune response. It is characterized by extreme fatigue, immune system dysfunction, neurological and endocrine disorders, chronic pain, and numerous other symptoms. Many of those with CFS are extremely sensitive to chemical exposure. F9-34]... 

Celiac disease, now called sprue or gluten enteropathy, is probably due to a genetic flaw that entails immune system dysfunction. The people who get this disease have bowel reactions to the chemical gliaden in the gluten of wheat, barley, rye, and oats, with inflammation and mild-to-severe damage to the small intestinal wall. Symptoms include irritability, abdominal distress and distention, vomiting, diarrhea, terrible gas problems, and weight loss. 

ADA deficiency and PNP deficiency are two autosomal recessive traits that cause immune system dysfunction. The reactions catalyzed by ADA and PNP are shown in Figure 27-21. Both enzymes function in conversion of adenosine and deoxyadenosine to hypoxanthine. PNP is... 

The exact mechanisms responsible for immune system dysfunction are not known. In ADA-deficient T lymphocytes, there is a 50- to 100-fold increase in the... 

Immune system dysfunction in ADA deficiency has also been ascribed to the inhibition of pyrimidine nucleotide synthesis by adenosine, known as pyrimidine starvation. This may arise from inhibition of conversion of orotic acid to orotidine 5 -monophosphate or from inhibition of PRPP synthesis by excessive synthesis of adenine nucleotides. 

Merrill, J. E., and Martinez-Maza, O. (1993). Cytokines in AIDS-associated nervous and immune system dysfunction. In Methods in Neuroscience (E. B. De Souza, ed.), pp. 243-266. Academic Press, San Diego. 

Viral and bacterial infections are associated with increased risk of certain cancers. Moreover, immunocompetent hosts may be better able to protect themselves from cancer by eliminating tumors and modulating the immunogenic phenotypes of tumors. In either case, a competent immune system may decrease the risk of several types of cancer. Thus, preventing or alleviating immune system dysfunction may be another mechanism by which vitamin C, vitamin E, and p-carotene contribute to cancer prevention. 

Does Castellon consider post-chemo changes a type of brain injury With the breast cancer patients I typically work with, many of the chemotherapy agents don t effectively cross the blood-brain barrier and directly injure the brain, he says. But could they cause indirect injury through immune system dysfunction, or vascular injury I would say yes. ... 

Immunotoxicity is any adverse effect on the function or structure of the immune system or other systems as a result of an immune system dysfunction. Adverse or immunotoxic effects occur when humoral or cellular immunity needed by the host to defend itself against infections or neoplastic diseases (immunosuppression) or unnecessary tissue damage (chronic inflammation, hypersensitivity... 

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