Physiological and behavioral effects of an antivertigo antihistamine in adults.

12 neurologically normal adults were tested before and after administration of meclizine, an over-the-counter medication for motion sickness. A battery of four tests was used: (1) distortion-product otoacoustic emissions, (2) the Repeated Evoked Potentials version of the Auditory Brainstem Response, (3) quantitative electroencephalography measured over the left and right sides of the auditory cortex, and (4) a hand-eye coordination task. The battery required approximately 1.5 hr. to complete. Each subject was tested with the battery in each of eight longitudinal sessions: three times on a control day (9 am, 1 pm, 3 pm--no medication); the same times on a second day one week later (medication at approximately 11:30 am), and 24- and 48-hr. check-up sessions following the medication day. Analysis indicated changes in all components, with details suggesting the site(s) of action of this type of antihistamine. The cross-section of the auditory system yielded by this battery makes it possible to observe effects at the periphery, in the brainstem, and in the cortex, including evidence linking otoacoustic emissions with central auditory physiology. Implications range from cautions regarding the use of antihistamines to physiological support for employing such medications to enhance patients' response to vestibular rehabilitation as well as to improve performance in learning-disordered children.

Effect of operation and radiotherapy on antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity.

A subpopulation of human lymphocytes bearing receptors for the Fe portion of IgG causes lysis of nucleated target cells in the presence of antibody. The reaction is known as antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) and the effector cells have been called killer (K) cells. We have measured K cell activity quantitatively in the peripheral blood of cancer patients using 51Cr labeled murine mastocytoma target cells and hyperimmune rabbit antimastocytoma antibody. ADCC was the same in males and females, was not affected by eating, smoking or the presence of infections, but was decreased in those over 65 years, during pregnancy, and in those with cachexia, or severe sepsis associated with nonmalignant diseases. It was normal in those with cancers being treated for cure and in those with benign diseases, but was decreased in those with advanced cancers. Operation did not produce a significant change in those who were not immunodepressed; in those who were immunodepressed before operation it caused a significant decrease maximal by the fifth day with recovery by the 15th day. Radiotherapy caused a decrease in K cell activity, maximal at 4 weeks, that persisted for 12 weeks with recovery after that time in those who did not have residual tumor. The values did not return to normal in those who had persistent tumor or distant metastases.