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Biomedical subjects

J Zora

Publications and source records attributed to J Zora.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

Response to pneumococcal immunization in children with and without recurrent infections.

Many children with recurrent sinopulmonary infections fail to mount an adequate humoral response following immunization with polysaccharide antigens. At present there are no controlled studies comparing responses to pneumococcal immunization in children with recurrent infections and a healthy, age-matched cohort. Immunological evaluation was performed on 66 children with recurrent sinopulmonary infections, aged 2-5 years (mean 3.06 +/- 0.92). A control group included 28 healthy, age-matched controls (mean 3.14 +/- 0.88 years). Both groups were immunized with 23 valent pneumococcal vaccine, and titers were measured before and 4 weeks after immunization. Antibody levels to 12 pneumococcal serotypes were measured via radioimmunoassay. Geometric preimmunization mean titers in the control group were 215.5 +/- 157 ngAbN/ml rising to 989.5 +/- 745 ngAbN/ml compared to 77.71 +/- 38.4 ngAbN/ml increasing to 446.7 +/- 406 ngAbN/ml in the study group (p < .05). Serotypes 3, 4, 7F, 8, 9N, and 18C were the most immunogenic, while serotypes 6A and 14 were the least. Overall, the control group responded to 7.71 +/- 1.24 serotypes versus 5.1 +/- 2.0 in the study group (p < .05), where postimmunization titers at least doubled and rose to > or = 300 ngAbN/ml. All controls responded to at least five or more serotypes, 26/28 responded to 6 or more. In contrast, only 38/66 (57%) of study patients responded to five or more serotypes, and only 27/66 (41%) responded to at least 6 of 12. Preimmunization titers of greater than 300 ngAbN/ml were present in 30% (102/336) of the control serotypes; however, only 53 of these (52%) doubled post immunization; 22% of the elevated titers decreased post immunization. Markedly elevated titers > or = 500 ngAbN/ml were present in 20% (69/336) of the preimmunization serotypes, only 39% of these doubled post immunization. Twenty-three valent pneumococcal vaccine is immunogenic in young, healthy children. A significant percentage of children with recurrent sinopulmonary infections fail to produce adequate serotype specific antibodies following pneumococcal immunization.

Antibodies, Bacterial↗

Mometasone furoate nasal spray is rapidly effective in the treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis in an outdoor (park), acute exposure setting.

The objective of this study was to determine the time to onset of symptom relief following a single dose of mometasone furoate nasal spray (MFNS) in symptomatic patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR). This was a single-center, placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized, parallel-group study with a 7-day run-in period followed by a single-dose administration of medication or placebo in an outdoor park setting. The park site provided an acute exposure to seasonal (tree and grass) pollens. Patients remained in the park of approximately 12 hours after dosing, during which time hourly assessments of SAR symptoms were recorded on a diary card. Two hundred thirty-nine patients with symptoms of SAR entered the study. Patients receiving any concurrent medication for treatment of their symptoms were excluded. Patients were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to receive treatment with either a single dose of MFNS (200 micrograms/or matching placebo nasal spray. Outcome measures included an assessment of overall therapeutic response and change from baseline in total nasal plus non-nasal sign/symptom severity score, total nasal sign/symptom severity score, and total non-nasal sign/symptom severity score. Improvement in total nasal symptom scores, total non-nasal symptom scores, and total nasal plus non-nasal symptom scores were greater and more sustained in patients receiving MFNS than in patients receiving placebo. The mean decrease from baseline in total nasal plus non-nasal symptom scores was significantly greater in MFNS-dosed patients than in placebo-dosed patients at 5 hours after dosing (p < 0.01). The mean decrease from baseline in total nasal symptom scores was significantly greater in MFNS-dosed patients than in placebo-dosed patients at 7 hours after dosing (p < 0.01). The between-treatment differences in total nasal plus non-nasal symptom scores and total nasal symptom scores remained significant for all subsequent hourly assessments through 12 hours post-dose. Patient assessments of overall response to therapy at end point were significantly different between treatment groups (p < 0.01) with 60.5% of MFNS-treated patients reporting complete, marked, or moderate relief compared with 46.5% of placebo-treated patients. Mometasone furoate nasal spray produces a statistically significant improvement in nasal symptom scores in patients with SAR by 7 hours after administration of a single 200 micrograms dose (100 micrograms in each nostril).

Administration, Topical↗