Healthy adults and non-liver disease patients in the Airin district gave a positivity rate for HBs antigen of approximately 2%, which is not so much different from the average of the entire Japanese population. In this district, the positive rate of HBs antigen 5% (11 out of 244) in chronic liver disease is much lower than that (31%) of control group patients at Osaka City University Hospital (O.C.U.H.). However the positive rate of anti-HBs antibody in this district is 46% which is extremely high compared with that (23.4%) in the rest of Japan. The positive for anti-HB antibodies (including of anti-HBs and anti-HBc antibody) accounted for 67% of non-liver disease patients and 68% of chronic liver disease patients in the Airin district. Corresponding values for patients at O.C.U.H. were 44% and 43% respectively. There were no significant differences in the histological picture between HBs antigen-negative patients with and those without demonstrable anti-HBs antibodies. Changes in the liver exhibited by heavy drinkers inhabitating the Airin district were primarily those of alcoholic liver damage.
THESE remarks are based on the personal observations and investigations carried out by Dr. Kawa and myself on the therapeutic effects of cortisone and ACTH in 33 cases of nasal allergy, which do not, however, include hay fever. I propose to give a general outline of the origin and physiological actions of these substances, as well as the effects of treatment by them. THEORIES OF ACTION OF CORTISONE AND ACTH IN ALLERGYAllergic rhinitis may be interpreted as being the result of the reaction of the nasal mucosa to antigens causing a local release of histamine. Dill and Bolstad (1951) emphasized that the exact mode of action of cortisone on the tissues was not definitely known but they believed that it caused a blocking or neutralizing effect on the antigenantibody union and thus a local desensitization of the tissue might result. Harvey (1950) presumed that in addition to those foreign proteins which excite hypersensibility, simple chemical substances and organic products of micro-organisms also played a part. These latter were not true antigens but they could combine with body proteins to form an antigenic complex and so prepare the tissues for an allergic inflammatory reaction. A somewhat attractive supposition which he made was that a direct injury to the cell might result from the union of antigen with antibody with the consequent liberation of histamine. He concluded that a given antigen might' produce very widely divergent reactions in different individuals.Hollander (1951) stated that ACTH did not cure disease but blocked harmful reaction in many cases. He cited as an example cases of rheumatoid arthritis in which colds rarely occur because they are in a non-specific hyperimmune state, but when treated by ACTH or cortisone, colds varying in severity and frequency did occur so that one effect of these substances was to change the mechanism of immunity. He continued that it was known physiologically that ACTH, by stimulation of the adrenal cortex, caused a lysis of lymphocytes, a release of antibodies and then a decrease in the amount of immune bodies. We have noticed in a great many, indeed we might say every one of our patients, that immediately after, or sometimes during, maintenance treatment a severe head cold developed and this would agree with Hollander's observations on the changes in immunity. Thorn et al. (1950) in their experimental work on the adrenal gland of the rat found that the adrenal cortex bore a direct relationship to the metabolism of histamine and its specific enzyme, histaminase, as the tissue and blood histamine was markedly increased and the mechanism for the destruction of histamine was impaired following removal of the adrenal gland. These changes could be fully compensated for by the administration of cortin (presumably Compound E or F,) but no difference could be detected when desoxycorticosterone was administered.FEB.-LARYNG. 1.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.