Subject(s)
Adrenocorticotropic Hormone/adverse effects , Herpes Simplex/etiology , Vidarabine/therapeutic use , Adrenocorticotropic Hormone/therapeutic use , Cerebellar Ataxia/drug therapy , Herpes Simplex/drug therapy , Humans , Infant , Male , Microbial Sensitivity Tests , Simplexvirus/drug effects , Vidarabine/pharmacologyABSTRACT
Interferon (IFN;titer, greater than 10 units) was present in the acute-phase sera of 30 of 40 subjects with culture and/or serologically documented, naturally acquired influenza A/Brazil/78 (H1N1) and in the acute-phase sera of five of 27 subjects with an influenza-like illness of undetermined etiology. No statistical correlation existed between the quantity of IFN in acute-phase serum and the course of the clinical illness. Antiviral activity in all of nine acute-phase sera and three of four sera obtained on the fifth to seventh days of illness was neutralized to greater than 50% by antibody to virus-induced human leukocyte IFN (HuIFN-alpha). In contrast, none of five sera collected between 21 and 23 days after the onset of illness contained IFN sensitive to neutralization by antibody to HuIFN-alpha. Resistance of IFN in convalescent-phase sera to neutralization by antibody to HuIFN-alpha suggests that multiple IFN species may evolve during viral infections.
Subject(s)
Influenza, Human/blood , Interferons/blood , Adult , Humans , Hydrogen-Ion Concentration , Interferons/immunology , Interferons/pharmacology , Male , Neutralization Tests , RNA Viruses/growth & development , Simplexvirus/growth & development , Temperature , Time FactorsABSTRACT
Oxidative metabolic responses of polymorphonuclear leukocytes were assessed in 24 stressed neonates and 22 well, term infants utilizing particulate and soluble stimuli. Stressed neonatal PMNs demonstrated a depressed CL response to zymosan, whereas O2- production for both normal and stressed PMNs of neonates was significantly elevated compared to that in PMNs from adults. These results were not ascribable to phagocytosis since it was comparable in all groups using radiolabeled bacteria. Stressed neonates' PMN responses to soluble stimuli were significantly elevated when compared with those from well neonate and adult controls. Enhanced responses were most prominent in the most severely stressed infants. Treatment of neonates' PMNs with the antioxidants vitamin E and DHB partially corrected the abnormalities, suggesting peroxidative damage to the PMN membrane had occurred. The oxidative metabolic abnormalities of neonates' PMNs are consistent with either a defect in HMPS activity, a defect in functioning of the later portions of the respiratory burst, or a stimulus-specific abnormality in respiratory burst activity.
Subject(s)
Infant, Newborn, Diseases/metabolism , Neutrophils/metabolism , Oxygen Consumption , Streptococcal Infections/pathology , Antioxidants/pharmacology , Humans , Infant, Newborn , Luminescent Measurements , Neutrophils/drug effects , Neutrophils/enzymology , Oxygen Consumption/drug effects , Peroxidase/blood , Solubility , Stimulation, Chemical , Streptococcus agalactiae , Superoxides/biosynthesis , Vitamin E/pharmacology , Zymosan/pharmacologyABSTRACT
A double-blind placebo-controlled trial of ribavirin was conducted in 97 young adult males naturally infected with influenza virus similar to A/Brazil/11/78 (H1N1). Ribavirin was given orally at a dose of 1,000 mg/day for five days beginning within 24 or 48 hr after onset of clinical influenza. The clinical signs and symptoms of influenza and quantitative viral shedding were the same in ribavirin- and placebo-treated groups. Ribavirin treatment was associated with significantly fewer fourfold or greater rises in antibody to influenza A viral antigen by the complement-fixation test, while rises in hemagglutination-inhibiting antibody titers occurred with equal frequency in both groups. The ribavirin-treated group experienced significant increases in bilirubin and in reticulocyte counts after onset of therapy.
