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Accession Number:
ADA235706
Title:
Combined Therapy for Postirradiation Infection
Descriptive Note:
Corporate Author:
ARMED FORCES RADIOBIOLOGY RESEARCH INST BETHESDA MD
Report Date:
1989-01-01
Pagination or Media Count:
6.0
Abstract:
Increased susceptibility to bacterial infection, probably by translocation from the intestinal flora, can be a lethal complication for 2-3 weeks after exposure to ionizing radiation. Antibiotics alone do not provide adequate therapy for induced infections in neutropenic mice. Because some substances that are derived from bacterial cell walls activate macrophages and stimulate nonspecific resistance to infection, such agents might be used to prevent or treat postirradiation infections. In this study, a cell-wall glycolipid, trehalose dimycolate TDM, was evaluated together with a third- generation cephalosporin, ceftriaxone, for their separate and combined effects on survival of B6D2F1 female mice that were exposed to the sublethal dose of 7.0 Gy Co radiation and challenged s.c. with lethal doses of Klebsiella pneumoniae. A single injection of TDM inoculated i.p. 1 hr postirradiation increased 30-day survival to 80 after a lethal challenge by K. Pneumoniae 4 days later. When the challenge dose of K. pneumoniae was increased to 5000 Ld 5030 on Day 4, all mice died.
Distribution Statement:
APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE
