title: The role of vitamin A in enhancing humoral immunity produced by antirabies vaccine.
abstract: We tested the effects of vitamin A supplementation on the antibody titre of 40 healthy volunteers (age range: 10-35 years), who had received a complete course of antirabies vaccine (5 injections over 30 days). After determining the baseline serum vitamin A status of 80 volunteers, 20 pairs were matched for serum vitamin A level, body mass index, age, sex and socioeconomic status. One person from each pair was randomly assigned to an experimental or control group. The experimental group received vitamin A and antirabies vaccine. Controls received only the vaccine. The experimental group had significantly greater (2.1 times) serum antirabies titre than controls. This finding is an important step towards improving the economy of dosage of antirabies vaccines.
authors.affiliation: Drugs Control and Traditional Medicines Division, Islamabad, Pakistan.
authors.forename: F Q
authors.initials: FQ
authors.lastname: Siddiqui
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Ahmad
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kakar
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Akhtar
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Dil
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood / Q000187:drug effects; D000917:Antibody Formation / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004357:Drug Synergism; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007121:Immunocompetence / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D010154:Pakistan; D011819:Rabies Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology*; D011820:Rabies virus / Q000276:immunology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014611:Vaccination / Q000379:methods; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014802:Vitamin A Deficiency / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D011819:Rabies Vaccines; D014801:Vitamin A