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Biomedical subjects

W R Beisel

Publications and source records attributed to W R Beisel.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

History of nutritional immunology: introduction and overview.

Nutritional immunology is a newly recognized subdiscipline of vast clinical and public health importance. Its history began in 1810 with recognition of lymphoid tissue atrophy due to malnutrition. Discovery of vitamins in the early 1900s was followed by reports on their contribution to immunity and other host defenses. A hiatus in immunonutritional progress occurred during World War II and the "antibiotic era," but a worldwide rebirth of interest began in the 1960s and early 1970s. The current logarithmic growth of nutritional immunology was triggered by increased medical interest, plus the introduction of new concepts and investigative research methodologies from both parent sciences.

Allergy and Immunology↗
PubMed1978

Alterations of body fluid compartments and distribution of tissue water and electrolytes in rhesus monkeys with rocky mountain spotted fever.

Chair-restrained rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) were inoculated subcutaneously with 10(2)--10(3) plaque-forming units of virulent Rickettsia rickettsii. The latent period for fever and rickettsemia was three to four days; death occurred six to eight days after infection. Total circulatory electrolyte levels and fluid volumes, including plasma, red blood cell, true circulatory blood, and extracellular fluid, increased. The expansion of the extracellular and plasma volumes resembled findings reported during severe Rocky Mountain spotted fever in humans, guinea pigs, and rabbits. Total water content of the liver also increased. Intracellular concentrations of K+, as well as total Na+ and K+, decreased in the diaphragm. Both the lung and medulla oblongata showed increased levels of intracellular Na+ and water with simultaneously decreased levels of extracellular Na+ and water. Such an intracellular overhydration of the medulla oblongata could contribute to death as a result of depression of the cardiovascular and respiratory centers. On the basis of the findings in monkeys, the intravenous infusion of fluids and electrolytes during clinical therapy of severe rickettsial infections should be considered extremely dangerous.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Effect of glucose infusion on the concentration of individual serum free amino acids during sandfly fever in man.

After an intravenous glucose load in man, total serum amino acid concentrations are rapidly depressed and remain below baseline values for at least 2 to 3 hr after serum glucose and insulin have returned to preload concentrations. Despite the presence of basal hypoaminoacidemia, a decreased glucose disappearance rate, and hyperinsulinemia in volunteers who were ill with sandfly fever, an intravenous glucose load resulted in a further depression of serum amino acids which was equal to or slightly greater than that observed in the same individuals before exposure to the virus. Although the infectious process may have some effect on insulin-stimulated hepatic disposal of a glucose load, it does not appear to influence the ability on insulin to decrease the rate of release of certain amino acids from skeletal muscle.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Magnitude of the host nutritional responses to infection.

This review describes the scope, complexity, and magnitude of host nutritional responses throughout the course of an infectious process. These responses include prominent changes in nitrogen and protein metabolism, altered rates of carbohydrate and lipid production and utilization, and changes in mineral, electrolyte, trace element, and vitamin metabolism. It is postulated that these responses develop in a relatively predictable sequence which is influenced by the adequacy of host antimicrobial defense mechanisms, the severity and duration of illness, and specific localization of an infectious process within the body. In addition to hormonal regulatory effects, the metabolic and nutritional responses of the host are also influenced by biologically active substances released when host cells participate in phagocytic activity and local inflammatory responses.

Carbohydrate Metabolism↗
PubMed1977

Sequential changes in body composition during infection: electron probe study IV.

Alterations occur in human muscle electrolyte and water composition in response to infection. There appear to be at least two basic mechanisms; the first is an exchange of sodium for potassium without alteration in water content of muscle. The second is an increase in cellular Na and water without a loss of K on a dry weight basis. In a series of studies in monkeys, Salmonella typhimurium sepsis was induced as an experimental model. Both patterns of muscle response to infection were detected. Electron probe microanalysis revealed that the loss of K concentration was due to an accumulation of intracellular saline which dilute the K content. The mechanism of this is unclear; however, a concomitant increase in undertermined osmoles in the serum suggests that there may be an increase in organic osmoles within the cell which leads to the dilution of intracellular K concentration.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Studies on Macaca mulatta infected with Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

Acid-base alterations and changes in other selected serum constituents (free fatty acids, triglycerides, cholesterol, copper, cortisol, alpha1-acid glycoprotein, haptoglobin, and albumin) were measured during a study of Rocky Mountain spotted fever in 16 male rhesus macaques. Blood samples were taken from nonanesthetized macaques conditioned to repeated handling. Arterial pH increased and PCO2 decreased during the febrile period. Free fatty acids, triglycerides, copper, cortisol, alpha1-acid glycoprotein, and haptoglobin increased, whereas albumin decreased during the disease. Significant changes were not observed in arterial PO2. Cholesterol remained unchanged. The increase in arterial pH and decrease in PaCO2 indicated that respiratory alkalosis was present in macaques acutely affected with Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Zinc metabolism in infection.

1. Multiple sequential changes in zinc metabolism occur during infectious illnesses. These are characterized by early redistribution and by the late occurrence of direct zinc losses. Redistribution is accompanied in many infections by a decline in plasma concentrations before or with onset of illness. Although late losses of zinc have not been confirmed by metabolic balances during infection, losses may be inferred because: a) they accompany the catabolic phase of other illnesses, b) urinary losses have been observed during infections in which they were measured, and c) infections may exaggerate losses via sweat or diarrhea. 2. Leukocytic endogenous mediator (LEM), appears to stimulate the initial changes in zinc redistribution. Although LEM has not been isolated in pure form, it can now be separated by physiocochemical means from endogenous pyrogen and other mediator substances released by activated phagocytic cells. 3. Early zinc redistribution may be a purposeful physiological event which serves as a host defense mechanism. Redistribution may influence the stability of cellular membranes, augment the functional ability of phagocytic cells and certain classes of lymphocytes, aid in the synthesis of nucleic acids and proteins, and contribute to the production of various zinc metalloenzymes. 4. Zinc therapy has not been shown experimentally to produce a beneficial effect in any infectious disease studied in animal models.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Defective lipid disposal mechanisms during bacterial infection in rhesus monkeys.

Mechanisms producing hypertriglyceridemia during bacterial sepsis have not been well defined. In this study lipid disposal mechanisms were assessed in 76 infected and 19 control male rhesus monkeys by the ability to dispose of triglycerides after: (1) oral lipid loading; (2) intravenous lipid loading; and (3) by lipolytic enzyme activity tests as measured by postheparin lipolytic activity (PHLA). Studies were performed both before and 48 hr after intravenous inoculation with either Salmonella typhimurium or Diplococcus pneumoniae when illness was uniformly severe and fasting serum triglyceride elevations were increased maximally. S. typhimurium-infected monkeys demonstrated significant fasting hypertriglyceridemia (p is less than 0.001), reduced clearance of orally and intravenously administered lipid and markedly reduced PHLA. During this gram-negative sepsis, mild lethargy, slight diarrhea, and a 2% mortality were observed. During D. pneumoniae sepsis, average fasting triglyceride concentrations were slightly, but not significantly elevated. While oral lipid clearance was impaired, intravenous lipid clearance was unimpaired, and PHLA was slightly reduced. Marked lethargy, agitation, and a 20% mortality were present during this gram-positive infection. Results of this study support the concept that an impairment of lipid disposal mechanisms, particularly during gram-negative sepsis with S. typhimurium, may significantly contribute to the observed hypertriglyceridemia.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1976

The significance and mechanism of an increased serum phenylalanine-tyrosine ratio during infection.

Infections or inflammatory states often cause significant increases in serum phenylalanine and the phenylalanine-tyrosine ratio. More than 95% of samples obtained during inflammatory diseases in man showed phenylalanine-tyrosine ratio increases greater than the maximum normal values. An increase in this ratio also occurred in monkeys with induced Rocky Mountain spotted fever, viral encephalitis, yellow fever, or pneumococcal and Salmonella infections, as well as in rats with pneumococcal and Salmonella infections, as well as in rats with pneumococcal, Salmonella or tularemia infections. A similar ratio increase occurred in rats inoculated with unpurified mediator substances (released by activated leukocytes) that appear to initiate many of the secondary metabolic phenomena associated with infection and/or inflammation. To identify responsible mechanisms, rats were given lethal doses of Streptococcus pneumoniae; serum phenylalanine and phenylalanine-tyrosine ratios increased significantly. Hepatic phenylalanine hydroxylase activities were slightly decreased when compared to noninfected controls. Infected and noninfected rats showed comparable oxidation rates for 14C-phenylalanine given with an oral phenylalanine load, as a pulse-oral dose, or as an intraperitoneal injection. After 8 hr, both infected and control rats had similar amounts of radioactivity in total body protein, but tissue distributions were markedly altered during pneumococcal sepsis. Serum proteins of infected rats contained almost twice as much total radioactivity as that found in controls, while the amount of labeled phenylalanine in skeletal muscle protein was significantly reduced in the infected group. Isolated muscles from infected rats released more phenylalanine and less tyrosine than control muscles. Infection-related increases in serum phenlalanine could not be explained by decreased hydroxylation or oxidation. Rather, the data were consistent with an increased flux of phenylalanine into serum, most likely as the result of increased skeletal muscle catabolism. Elevations in the serum phenylalanine-tyrosine ratio have potential value for estimating the presence of an inflammatory fisease and the catabolic state of a patient.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Hypertriglyceridemia produced by endotoxin: role of impaired triglyceride disposal mechanisms.

The role of Salmonella typhimurium endotoxin in producing hypertriglyceridemia was investigated in 70 male rhesus monkeys. Dose-response studies were performed with 0.3-9.0 mg of endotoxin/kg injected intravenously; free fatty acids and triglycerides were measured during the subsequent 8 hr. The effect of endotoxin on lipid disposal mechanisms was assessed by both intravenous lipid-loading tests and total plasma lipolytic activity after administration of heparin. The possible interference of endotoxin with lipid-clearing enzymes was also explored. Smaller doses of endotoxin (0.3 and 0.9 mg/kg) produced significant increments in free fatty acids within 2-5 hr of administration, with minimal trilgyceride increments. Larger doses of endotoxin (2.8-9.0 mg/kg) failed to produce significant elevations in free fatty acids but did result in significant triglyceride increases 2-6 hr after administration. Within 4 hr after administration of 7 mg of endotoxin/kg, both tests showed impaired disposal of lipids. However, once lipid-clearing enzymes were activated, endotoxin did not reduce lipolytic activity in vitro. These results support the contention that endotoxin significantly elevates serum triglyceride concentrations and leads to impaired lipid disposal mechanisms by interfering with the activation of lipid-clearing enzymes.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Cardiovascular and vomiting responses to a lethal intravenous dose of staphyloenterotoxin A in rhesus monkeys.

Effects of a single intravenous dose of highly purified staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SEA; 0.5 mg/kg) were studied in conscious rhesus monkeys. The mean survival time for four of five experimental monkeys was 8.7 h. Vomiting, pallor, abdominal distension, occasional diarrhea and dehydration were observed. Tachycardia and sustained hypotension developed prior to death. During vomiting, transient hypertension was induced.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Sequential changes in the concentration of specific serum proteins during typhoid fever infection in man.

An automated immunoprecipitin system has been utilized to quantitate the concentration of 10 specific proteins in the plasma of man. Values obtained by this technique are in agreement with the published concentrations for these specific plasma proteins. This technique was utilized to determine the sequential change s in 10 individual plasma proteins of volunteers exposed to Salmonella typhi. In those volunteers who developed typical typhoid fever, plasma concentrations of the acute phase proteins, alpha1-acid glycoprotein, alpha1-antitrypsin, and haptoglobin, as well as C3 complement were significantly increased with the onset of febrile illness. In contrast, the concentration of plasma albumin and tranferrin were depressed while plasma IgM became elevated during early convalescence from this infection. No significant changes were observed in the plasma concentrations of alpha2-macroglobulin, IgG, or IgA. In the exposed volunteers who did not become ill, the only significant change was a brief depression of alpha1-antitrypsin. During typhoid fever the patterns of change for individual plasma acute-phase globulins were different from those reported for patients with hepatitis, myocaridal infarction, or surgery.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Marylanders defeat Philadelphia: yellow fever updated.

Those strategic points which influence this amateur historian to declare a victory for Baltimore and Maryland over Philadelphia are: I. Based upon clinical and epidemiological data, two Marylanders, Potter and Davidge, were among the first to contest Rush and his contagion theory; they told him so and published their views. To prove this point, Potter went to the extreme of inoculating himself with presumedly infected material. Stubbins Ffirth, a young University of Pennsylvania medical student, did the same four years later. To Rush's credit was ultimate abandonment of his originally held views. II. John Crawford, of Baltimore, although not the originator of the insect concept of transmission of infectious agents, published his concepts in 1811. III. Henry Rose Carter, a Maryland graduate, clearly delineated, in 1898, that after identification of an index case of yellow fever an extrinsic incubation period was necessary before the evolution of secondary cases. IV. James Carroll, another University of Maryland graduate, who worked as Deputy under Walter Reed with Lazear and Agramonte, helped prove Finlay's original concept that the Aedes aegypti mosquito was the natural vector of yellow fever. Carroll himself was the first experimentally induced case. V. Studies in primates provide new approaches for management of yellow fever. Nutritional support and treatment with specific anti-viral agents may be useful for therapy of human yellow fever. Maryland members of the Climatological are mindful of Philadelphia's rich medical heritage and of the many battles won in the City of Brotherly Love. Physicians in colonial and early America experienced The best and worst of times, theirs was an age of foolishness and belief, of incredulity and light, of darkness, despair and hope. This tale of two cities ends in peace.

Animals↗