Immune Mediated Diseases and Immune Modulation in the Neurocritical Care Unit

Tachykinin-mediated modulation of the immune response.

Tachykinins represent a family of peptides which have significant effects on such diverse physiological responses as gut peristalsis, vascular permeability, and the transmission of pain. Traditionally, neurons have been identified as the major source of tachykinin peptides in peripheral tissues and in the central nervous system, resulting in their classification as neuropeptides or, more specif...

Cholinergic Receptor Sensitivity Following Pharmacological Modulation of the Immune System

Objective. To study the effect of immunomodulators on learning and memory and on cholinergic receptor sensitivity. Methods. Animals were initially treated for a period of 8 days with cyclosporine/levamisole/saline. They were then subjected to passive avoidance training and 48 hrs later, the retention test for the passive avoidance task was conducted. Twenty-four hours after the retention tests ...

Vitamin D, infections and immune-mediated diseases

Vitamin D has been an exciting fi eld of research in recent years, with more than 1400 publications published on the subject in 2008. The lay press has published articles, the internet is full of information and pharmacies have prominent displays of vitamin D supplements. Historically, vitamin D has been thought only to have an effect on calcium metabolism and bone. Vitamin D defi ciency was th...

Molecular mimicry and immune-mediated diseases.

Molecular mimicry has been proposed as a pathogenetic mechanism for autoimmune disease, as well as a probe useful in uncovering its etiologic agents. The hypothesis is based in part on the abundant epidemiological, clinical, and experimental evidence of an association of infectious agents with autoimmune disease and observed cross-reactivity of immune reagents with host 'self' antigens and micr...

Inflammatory and Immune-Mediated Cutaneous Diseases