Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America
This article reviews the etiology, clinical characteristics, and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and associated psychological sequelae in children and adolescents with this lifelong disease. Pediatric-onset IBD, consisting of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, has significant medical morbidity and in many young persons is also associated with psychological and psychosocial challenges.
In chronic infectious diseases, such as schistosomiasis, pathogen growth and immunopathology are affected by the induction of a proper balanced Th1/Th2 response to the pathogen and by antigen-triggered activation-induced T cell death. Here, by using S. japonicum infection or schistosome antigens-immunized mouse model, or antigens in vitro stimulation, we report that during the early stage of S.
BACKGROUND: Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway is linked to the development of asthma. Anti-malarial drug artesunate is a semi-synthetic derivative of artemisinin, the principal active component of a medicinal plant Artemisia annua, and has been shown to inhibit PI3K/Akt activity. We hypothesized that artesunate may attenuate allergic asthma via inhibition of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Female BALB/c mice sensitized and challenged with ovalbumin (OVA) developed airway inflammation.
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Roots of Asparagus racemosus Willd (Shatavari in vernacular) are widely used in Ayurveda as Rasayana for immunostimulation, galactogogue as also in treatment of conditions like ulcers and cancer. Various studies have indicated immunomodulatory properties of Shatavari root extracts and formulations. AIM OF THE STUDY: To study the effect of standardized Asparagus racemosus root aqueous extract (ARE) on systemic Th1/Th2 immunity of SRBC sensitized animals.
Withania somnifera is an ayurvedic Indian medicinal plant whose immunomodulatory activities have been widely used as a home remedy for several ailments. We recently observed immunostimulatory properties in the root extracts of chemotypes NMITLI-101, NMITLI-118, NMITLI-128 and pure withanolide, withaferin A. In the present study, we evaluated the potential immunoprophylactic efficacies of these extracts against an infective pathogen.
Traditional herbal formulas used to treat inflammatory arthritis in China and India include Boswellia carterii or Boswellia serrata. They both contain boswellic acids (BAs) which have been shown to exhibit anti-inflammatory and antiarthritic properties. This study tests the hypothesis that mixtures of BAs derived from B. carterii have immunomodulatory properties. B.
Mice lacking the vitamin D receptor (VDR) are resistant to airway inflammation. Pathogenic immune cells capable of transferring experimental airway inflammation to wildtype (WT) mice are present and primed in the VDR KO mice. Furthermore, the VDR KO immune cells homed to the WT lung in sufficient numbers to induce symptoms of asthma. Conversely, WT splenocytes, Th2 cells and hematopoetic cells induced some symptoms of experimental asthma when transferred to VDR KO mice, but the severity was less than that seen in the WT controls.
BACKGROUND: Although upregulation of interleukin-6 (IL-6) is associated with many solid tumors, its role in pancreatic cancer has not been well elucidated. In this study, we examined the expression of IL-6 in pancreatic cancer cells, and determined the effect of exogenous IL-6 on cytokine secretion, gene expression and signaling in human pancreatic cancer cells. METHODS: The mRNA levels of IL-6, VEGF165, neuropilin-1 (NRP-1) and neuropilin-2 (NRP-2) were determined by real-time RT PCR. Phosphorylation of ERK2 in pancreatic cancer cells was determined by using Bio-Plex phosphoprotein assay.
Clinical and Experimental Allergy: Journal of the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology
BACKGROUND: ImmuBalance is a koji fungus (Aspergillus oryzae) and lactic acid fermented soybean product. This unique production process is believed to create a food supplement that helps to induce or maintain normal immune response. OBJECTIVE: To assess possible therapeutic effects of ImmuBalance on peanut (PN) hypersensitivity using a murine model of peanut allergy (PNA).
BACKGROUND: A large body of evidence suggests that immune system dysregulation is associated with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in adults. This study extends this work to adolescent MDD to examine the hypotheses of immune system dysregulation in adolescents with MDD, as manifested by significantly: (i) elevated plasma levels of cytokines (interferon [IFN]-gamma, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin [IL]-6, IL-1beta, and IL-4); and (ii) Th1/Th2 cytokine imbalance shifted toward Th1 as indexed by increased IFN-gamma/IL-4.
