Treatment with desoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA) and 1 per cent saline as drinking water for 21 days caused a significant and similar increase in blood pressure in haired mice, with a normal thymus function, as in nude mice with genetical aplasia of the thymus. After 57 and 78 days there was, however, a significantly more pronounced increase in blood pressure in haired than in nude mice. A marked degree of round cell infiltration around intrarenal vessels and degenerative changes including wedge‐shaped infarcts were observed in the kidneys of the haired mice, commencing after 57 days of treatment, while no such changes were found in nude mice. Thymus grafting in nude mice, successively treated with DOCA and salt, conferred the ability to react with chronic hypertension and intrarenal vascular disease, equal to the reaction seen in haired mice. The present investigation has provided evidence for the existence of an initial thymus independent and a chronic thymus dependent phase of DOCA and salt hypertension in mice. It still remains an unsolved problem whether the secondary blood pressure fall observed in nude athymic mice is a direct consequence of the lack of perivascular cellular immune reactions, or caused by other defects in this strain of mice.
Thirty-one adult patients with asthma caused by house-dust mites (HDM) were included in this placebo-controlled, double-blind study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of specific immunotherapy (SIT) with biologically standardized extracts of HDM. The specific diagnosis was confirmed by skin prick tests, specific IgE, and bronchial provocation tests with HDM allergens. The patients were randomized to receive active treatment with extracts of either Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Dpt) or D. farinae (Dfa) (Alutard SQ, ALK, Denmark) or placebo injections. Twenty-three patients completed the study. After 1 year of treatment, we found a clinically important and significant reduction in both asthma medicine consumption (inhaled steroids 38% and beta 2-agonists 46%) and symptom score (57%) in the actively treated group, but not the placebo group. These findings were confirmed by a significant decrease in skin and bronchial sensitivity to HDM in the active group. Additionally, there was a significant difference in the patients' scores for effect in favor of the actively treated group. Total IgE and specific IgE to HDM showed no significant changes before and after treatment for either group. Spirometric lung-function measurements showed a significant increase in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) from 85% before to 89% of predicted values after treatment for the actively treated group. Peak-flow measurements at home showed no significant changes during the study. It is concluded that allergen SIT is an effective treatment in adult patients suffering from asthma due to HDM.
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