Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
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Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. · Dec 2004
Early events in antigen-specific regulatory T cell induction via nasal and oral mucosa.
Mucosal Tr prevent harmful immune responses to innocuous antigens that are encountered at the mucosae. This unique subset of Tr is adaptive, antigen specific, and suppresses irrespective of cytokine polarization. Here we study the earliest events of mucosal Tr induction and factors that control their differentiation from naive T cells.
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Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. · Dec 2004
Can posttraumatic stress disorder be prevented with glucocorticoids?
Patients with critical illness who are treated in an intensive care unit (ICU) often report traumatic memories from ICU treatment, receive exogenously administered glucocorticoids for medical reasons, and have a relatively high incidence of chronic stress symptoms and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during follow-up. ICU therapy could therefore represent a useful model for investigating glucocorticoid effects on traumatic memories and PTSD development. Studies in long-term survivors of ICU treatment demonstrated a clear and vivid recall of different categories of traumatic memory such as nightmares, anxiety, respiratory distress, or pain. ⋯ The prolonged administration of glucocorticoids (stress doses of hydrocortisone) to critically ill patients resulted in a significant reduction of PTSD symptoms measured after recovery without influencing the number of categories of traumatic memory. This protective effect of cortisol can possibly be explained by a cortisol-induced temporary impairment in traumatic memory retrieval which has previously been demonstrated in both rats and humans. Therefore, stress doses of hydrocortisone could be useful for prophylaxis and treatment of PTSD.
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Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. · Dec 2004
Oxidative stress and changes in alpha- and gamma-tocopherol levels during coronary artery bypass grafting.
We studied whether cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) has any immediate impact on the initiation of antioxidative defenses in the body by measuring F(2)-isoprostanes and alpha- and gamma-tocopherol, respectively. 8-iso-PGF(2alpha) levels increased significantly within 3 minutes and until the end of CPB. alpha-Tocopherol levels increased gradually at 20 min during CPB and continued until 6 hours after CPB. gamma-Tocopherol levels followed a similar fashion at the end of CPB. 8-iso-PGF(2alpha) and tocopherol levels kept at basal level 12 and 24 hours post CPB. These findings suggest that an increased free radical-induced oxidative stress together with a gradual appearance of antioxidative defense system during and after CPB.