Hey Everyone,
Check this out: Anthrax-Protective Effects of Yeast Beta1,3 Glucans from Medscape General Medicine Posted 03/21/2003 Bill Kournikakis, PhD, Rosemonde Mandeville, MD, PhD, Pauline Brousseau, PhD, Gary Ostroff, PhD Abstract and Introduction Abstract Context: The recent events increasing the threat of bioterrorism have prompted a widespread search for defenses against this peril. Objective: To evaluate the anthrax-protective effect of beta1,3-glucan immune modulators (PGG-glucan and WGP beta glucan) in an experimental animal model. Design: Beta1,3-glucan immune modulators were administered by subcutaneous injection to Balb/c mice 2 days prior to anthrax challenge. WGP beta glucan was administered by daily oral gavage for 7 days prior to challenge, or in drinking water for 10 days postchallenge with a lethal dose of Bacillus anthracis spores. Survival, survival time, and microbial bioburden relative to an infected, untreated control group were assessed. Results: A single injected dose of PGG-glucan or WGP beta glucan immune modulators given 2 days before challenge significantly: (a) increased the survival rate of infected mice (2.5-fold), (b) diminished the bacterial load in the lungs of infected mice (4-8-fold), and (c) increased the proportion of bacteria-free animals 10 days after challenge (2-fold). In mice prophylactically administered oral WGP beta glucan for 1 week prior to infection, survival increased from 50% to 100%; therapeutic administration of oral WGP beta glucan for 10 days postinfection increased survival from 30% up to 90% in treatment groups. Conclusions: These results demonstrate the potential for beta1,3-glucan immune modulators to provide a significant degree of protection against anthrax, a potential biological warfare (BW) agent in a mouse model of anthrax infection. Further studies are needed to optimize protection, evaluate activity in combination with other treatment options, demonstrate activity in a validated primate model of infection, and determine if protection is effective against other potential BW agents. Four page article begins here: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/450700?mpid=11662&WebLogicSession=PonvaV pB68Eeftx7mCVBINb0O303Xp2KbyD9WPdQQkezZLRtrctM|3990385786710615127/184161392 /6/7001/7001/7002/7002/7001/-1 Regards, Catherine -- The silver-list is a moderated forum for discussion of colloidal silver. Instructions for unsubscribing may be found at: http://silverlist.org To post, address your message to: [email protected] Silver-list archive: http://escribe.com/health/thesilverlist/index.html List maintainer: Mike Devour <[email protected]>
