Skip Navigation

Journal of Tropical Pediatrics 2003 49(3):181-185; doi:10.1093/tropej/49.3.181
© 2003 by Oxford University Press
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (3)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Kutlu, N. O.
Right arrow Articles by Evliyaoglu, E.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Kutlu, N. O.
Right arrow Articles by Evliyaoglu, E.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

The Effects of Androstenediol and Dehydroepiandrosterone on the Immune Response to BCG at Puberty

Nurettin Onur Kutlu1, Aysehan Akinci1, Ergün Sönmezgöz1, Ismail Temel2 and Ercüment Evliyaoglu3

1 Department of Pediatrics, Turgut Ozal Medical Center, Malatya, Turkey 2 Department of Biochemistry, Turgut Ozal Medical Center, Malatya, Turkey 3 Malatya Tuberculosis Dispensary II, Malatya, Turkey

In order to assess the effects of age-related changes of serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS) and androstenediol (AED) concentrations on BCG vaccination throughout the puberty period, we matched 41 prepubertal (mean age 8.63 ± 1.36 years, range 8–14 years) and 43 pubertal (mean age 13.8 ± 1.31 years, range 10–16 years) schoolchildren who were PPD negative and free of disease or medication known to affect immune function. The tuberculin test was performed 8 weeks after vaccination and tuberculin response and hormone levels were compared between prepubertal and pubertal subjects. We found a higher tuberculin response in the pubertal group when compared with the prepubertal ones. The pubertal children had 79.1 per cent tuberculin positivity compared with 46.4 per cent of prepubertal children (p < 0.05). Diameters of induration of the tuberculin test among prepubertal students vs. pubertal students were 9.5 ± 3.8 mm and 11.9 ± 3.7 mm, respectively (p < 0.005). Pubertal stage, testis volume, and pubic stage were also found to have significant effects on tuberculin test results. No difference was observed between both sexes with regard to responses of the tuberculin test in either the prepubertal or the pubertal group (p > 0.05). DHEAS and AED levels in the tuberculin-positive subjects were found to be significantly higher than tuberculin-negative ones (p = 0.040 and p = 0.046, respectively). Among both these hormones, only AED levels were correlated with tuberculin test responses. These results suggest that AED may play a role in the immunity to BCG vaccination and further immunological investigations are warranted to provide support for this idea.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.