ABSTRACT
S. pneumoniae is a significant cause of community-acquired pneumonia in the elderly, and accounts for the majority of the pneumonia deaths among the elderly. We conducted this randomized double-blind study to evaluate the immune response to a 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine and the persistence of antibodies two years after the vaccination in an elderly population in Santiago, Chile. A total of 118 elderly nursing home residents received either the pneumococcal or a tetanus control vaccine. Serum samples were taken at enrollment, at two months, and at two years post-vaccination. Pre-vaccination anti-pneumococcal antibody geometric mean concentrations (GMC) were similar in both study groups, with increased levels of antibodies found only against serotype 14. The pneumococcal vaccine was highly immunogenic at 2 months, and titers remained high two years after the vaccination for the 10 serotypes studied in this elderly population. The results thus support the benefits of this pneumococcal vaccine in this elderly population who are at increased risk of invasive pneumococcal disease.
Subject(s)
Pneumococcal Infections/prevention & control , Pneumococcal Vaccines/immunology , Streptococcus pneumoniae/immunology , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Antibodies, Bacterial/blood , Case-Control Studies , Chile , Double-Blind Method , Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay , Female , Homes for the Aged , Humans , Immunoglobulin G/blood , Male , Middle Aged , Pneumococcal Infections/immunologyABSTRACT
A method was devised to determine the nature of the mechanism of the increase in renal (NA++K+)-ATPase in rats fed dilute ethanol for ten weeks. Antiserum to (NA++K+)-ATPase obtained from rabbits was added to microssomal fractions of Kidney and the activities of (NA++K+)-ATPase and Mg2+ ATPase were determined. The addition of antiserum resulted in a same pattern of dose-related inhibition of (NA++K+)-ATPase activity in control and ethanol-fed rats, whereas mg2+-ATPase was not affected by the antiserum. These results suggest that the mechanism of ethanol-induced enhancement of renal (NA++K+)-ATPase activity could be explained through an increase in the number of catalytic units.
Subject(s)
Animals , Female , Rats , Rabbits , Ethanol/pharmacology , Kidney/drug effects , Sodium-Potassium-Exchanging ATPase/metabolism , Ca(2+) Mg(2+)-ATPase/metabolism , Electrophoresis, Cellulose Acetate , Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel , Immune Sera/pharmacology , Immunoglobulin G/isolation & purification , Kidney/metabolism , Potassium/metabolism , Rabbits/immunology , Rats, Wistar , Sodium-Potassium-Exchanging ATPase/antagonists & inhibitors , Sodium-Potassium-Exchanging ATPase/isolation & purification , Sodium/metabolismABSTRACT
A method was devised to determine the nature of the mechanism of the increase in renal (NA++K+)-ATPase in rats fed dilute ethanol for ten weeks. Antiserum to (NA++K+)-ATPase obtained from rabbits was added to microssomal fractions of Kidney and the activities of (NA++K+)-ATPase and Mg2+ ATPase were determined. The addition of antiserum resulted in a same pattern of dose-related inhibition of (NA++K+)-ATPase activity in control and ethanol-fed rats, whereas mg2+-ATPase was not affected by the antiserum. These results suggest that the mechanism of ethanol-induced enhancement of renal (NA++K+)-ATPase activity could be explained through an increase in the number of catalytic units. (AU)
