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Biomedical subjects

L Eriksen

Publications and source records attributed to L Eriksen.

14 recordsLinked to original sources

Interaction between Ascaris suum and Pasteurella multocida in the lungs of mice.

In an experiment including 8 groups of 15 mice, the effect of migrating Ascaris suum larvae in the lungs on the establishment and pathogenicity of aerosol exposure to Pasteurella multocida was investigated. Following aerosol exposure to P. multocida, mice with migrating A. suum in their lungs developed more severe pneumonia and septicaemia than did parasite-free mice. The parasite-induced effect on bacterial pathogenicity was more marked for a non-toxin-producing P. multocida as compared with a toxin-producing strain of P. multocida, possibly due to the higher spontaneous pathogenicity of the non-toxigenic strain of P. multocida. The present results should encourage controlled experiments on possible interactions between A. suum and various airborne microbial infections in pigs.

Animals

Response to repeated inoculations with Ascaris suum eggs in pigs during the fattening period. I. Studies on worm population kinetics.

This experimental study on pigs was designed to simulate natural, long-term exposure to Ascaris suum under modern management conditions. Parasite kinetics were followed in pigs receiving A. suum eggs as repeated trickle inoculations at two dose levels beginning at a body weight of 25 kg until their slaughter at 90 kg (baconers). In pigs inoculated twice weekly with 500 eggs, there was an initial marked rise in the numbers of hepatic milk spots, but as early as around week 6 after the start of inoculations and until week 16, at which time the last pigs were slaughtered, the numbers of spots diminished drastically. In pigs receiving only 25 eggs twice weekly, low and moderately fluctuating numbers of spots were seen throughout the experiment. Larvae recoverable from the livers and lungs were observed mainly during the beginning of the experiment. Before patency, immature intestinal worms were found in moderate numbers that showed a rough positive correlation with the dose levels, but at the time at which adult worms started to appear, immature parasites could practically no longer be found. In all, only 10 of 40 pigs harbored adults, and 4 of these 10 pigs harbored 80% of the total worm population. The results show that acquired dose-dependent host responses to A. suum play an important role in regulating the worm population along the migratory route of the parasite and that the final burden of worms in the small intestine is dose-dependent and highly variable.

Animals

Resistance to Ascaris suum in parasite naïve and naturally exposed growers, finishers and sows.

Commercially reared growers, finishers, and sows of Danish Landrace x Yorkshire crossbred were inoculated orally with Ascaris suum at 50 eggs kg-1 body weight. White spots on the serosal surface of livers and total larval recoveries from lungs were recorded 7 days later. The response in pigs originating from a specific pathogen free and parasite free herd (parasite naïve) was observed in the three different age groups and compared with age-matched pigs from a herd maintained in a facility contaminated with A. suum (naturally exposed). The pre-inoculation immune status of the various groups was characterized serologically using antigen preparations derived from various stages of A. suum. Inoculation of all age groups of parasite naïve pigs with A. suum eggs produced relatively high liver white spots and lung larvae, although expression of these counts as a percentage of the inoculum showed a moderate age-related resistance from growers to finishers to sows. In contrast, pigs naturally exposed to A. suum expressed strong immunity to a challenge infection as few or no larvae were detected in the lungs. In addition, growers, finishers, and sows from the naturally exposed herd had significantly higher levels of serum IgG/IgA to several different A. suum antigens compared with pigs from the parasite nave herd. Liver white spots, expressed as a percentage of the inoculum, were highest in growers from the naturally exposed herd but were markedly reduced in finishers and sows from that herd. In fact, few or no white spots were observed in naturally exposed sows, while sows from the parasite-naïve herd had in excess of 300 liver white spots following challenge. These results indicate that commercially raised pigs that are exposed to A. suum develop a strong protective immunity that ultimately produces a complete pre-hepatic barrier to larval migration, while pigs raised parasite free remain susceptible to infection.

Age Factors

Diagnostic tests for Trichinella spiralis infection in pigs. A comparative study of ELISA for specific antibody and histamine release from blood cells in experimental infections.

A study on the histamine release test (HR) for the demonstration of infections with Trichinella spiralis in pigs was carried out on 18 pigs, six infected with 200 larvae, six infected with 5000 larvae and six non-infected (control group). The results obtained by HR during a 7 week infection were compared with those of the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). All inoculated pigs were found to be positive on Day 40 post-inoculation (p.i.) by necropsy examination of selected muscle groups, with mean recoveries of 7.9 and 225 larvae g-1 of tissue in the low- and high-dose group, respectively. At this time, all animals of the high-dose group and five out of six animals of the low-dose group were antibody positive in ELISA with any of three coating antigens employed (a crude muscle larva extract, an excretory/secretory (ES) antigen and a purified 45 kDa antigen). HR performed on whole blood was positive in four out of six pigs of the high-dose group and one out of six pigs of the low-dose group. The earliest ELISA seroconversions took place at Day 15 p.i. with crude and ES antigens. The earliest measurable reaction in HR performed on whole blood was found on Day 19 p.i. There was considerable individual variation regarding which test was the most sensitive for the early detection of infection. Washing of the blood cells prior to antigen provocation led to a markedly improved sensitivity of HR, all animals of the high-dose and three out of six animals of the low-dose group being positive by Day 40 p.i. The time course of the development of ELISA titres and HR reactivity indicated that this effect is due to the removal of blocking antibodies.

Animals

Urinary excretion of porphyrins in two cases of porphyria cutanea tarda during a period of various treatments.

The urinary excretion of porphyrins in two cases of porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT) has been followed during a period in which various treatments have been tried. In one patient pyridoxal-5-phosphate (P-5-P) injections lead to a dramatic increase in porphyrin excretion. In another P-5-P treatment was followed by a significant decrease in porphyrin excretion. p-Aminobenzoic acid (PABA) apparently had no effect on porphyrin excretion, while repeated phlebotomies had the expected effect. In both patients all variations in the total amount of porphyrins excreted were almost exclusively due to the variations in the amounts of heptacarboxylic porphyrin type III and uroporphyrin I. A secondary finding was an increase in hexa- and penta-carboxylic porphyrins type III without a concomitant increase in coproporphyrin III.

4-Aminobenzoic Acid

Urinary excretion of position isomers of penta-and hexa-carboxylated porphyrins belonging to the isomer III series in a case of congenital erythropoietic porphyria.

The excretion of position isomers of penta- and hexa-carboxylated porphyrins type III in the urine in a case of congenital erythropoietic porphyria characterized by the excretion of large amounts of penta-, hexa- and hepta-carboxylated porphyrins type III together with isocoproporphyrins both in the urine and faeces, and a simple method for the synthesis and separation of such position isomers has been described. The implications of the finding of position isomers type III have been discussed and it is suggested that the decarboxylation of uroporphyrinogen III both in the present case and under physiological conditions is a random process.

Chromatography, Paper

A study of blood eosinophil counting in calves.

Blood eosinophils were determined in eight 7--13-month-old calves that had been reared under parasite-free conditions. Eosinophil counts were obtained by three methods, a) a direct count, b) a differential count and c) an indirect count (i.e. differential count x total leucocyte count). Methodological errors of these methods were determined. Upper limits of 1,000 eosinophils/micronl (direct count) and 9.5 per cent eosinophils (differential count) have been estimated an suitable working standards for calves of this age group. The distribution of eosinophils was skew, most direct counts being below 700 cells/micronl and most differential counts being below 7.5 per cent. A high degree of correlation was found between results obtained by either method, but an even higher correlation was found between direct and indirect counts.

Age Factors

Oral retinoic acid as therapy for congenital ichthyosiform erythroderma.

Oral retinoic acid has been therapeutically beneficial for three patients with congenital ichthyosiform erythroderma and one with congenital bullous ichthyosifrom erythroderma. Response to therapy was slow but definite with suppression of scale formation, marked reduction of painful cracking of the underlying epidermis and disappearance of skin irritation. Side effects have not occurred. Therapy had to be maintained to prevent recurrence of symptoms.

Administration, Oral

The effect of various therapeutic trials on the prophyrin excretion in a case of congenital erythropoietic prophyria.

A patient with a biochemically "new" type of congenital erythropoietic porphyria has been studied under various therapeutic trials. Splenectomy had no demonstrable effect on porphyrin excretion or clinical picture. Vitamin E caused a moderate fall in porphyrin excretion, however, there was no significant improvement in light tolerance and tendency to hemolysis. Beta-carotene reduced skin photosensitivity appreciably, while total porphyrin excretion remained unchanged and the tendency to develop hemolytic anemia showed only slight improvement. Red cell transfusion caused a rapid, dramatic fall in prophyrin excretion (in 4-5 days) and a transient increase in light tolerance, while the distribution of the different porphyrins excreted remained unchanged. These observations indicate that all or nearly the abnormal porphyrins excreted are of erythropoietic origin, and that the overwhelming part of the porphyrins originate from an abnormal population of shortlived red cells. Findings on fluorescence microscopy of blood and bone marrow support this view. Meticulous protection against light of the shorter wavelengths caused a similar rise in hemoglobin level as produced by red cell transfusion, however, in this instance the total excretion of porphyrins did not fall. It is suggested that the inhibitory effect of transfusion on erythropoiesis (and thereby porphyrin excretion) might be due partly to a depression of erythropoietin formation, partly to the presence of an erythropoiesis inhibiting factor (chalone) in the transfused red cells.

Blood Transfusion