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In medicine, adjuvants are agents which modify the effect of other agents while having few if any direct effects when given by themselves. In this sense, they are very roughly analogous with chemical catalysts. Medicine is the branch of health science and the sector of public life concerned with maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, treatment and possible prevention of disease and injury. ...
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Catalysis. ...
Pharmacology
In pharmacology, adjuvants are drugs that have few or no pharmacological effects by themselves, but may increase the efficacy or potency of other drugs when given at the same time. Pharmacology (in Greek: pharmacon (φάÏμακον) meaning drug, and logos (λόγος) meaning science) is the study of how substances interact with living organisms to produce a change in function. ...
In general, efficacy is the ability to produce an effect, usually a specifically desired effect. ...
Erectile dysfunction, also known as impotence, is the inability to develop or maintain an erection of the penis for satisfactory sexual intercourse regardless of the capability of ejaculation. ...
For instance, caffeine has minimal analgesic effect on its own, but may have an adjuvant effect when given with paracetamol [citation needed]. Caffeine is a xanthine alkaloid compound that acts as a stimulant in humans. ...
An analgesic (colloquially known as a painkiller) is any member of the diverse group of drugs used to relieve pain and to achieve analgesia. ...
Paracetamol (INN) (IPA: ) or acetaminophen (USAN), is a common analgesic and antipyretic drug that is used for the relief of fever, headaches, and other minor aches and pains. ...
Immunology Similarly, in immunology an adjuvant is an agent which, while not having any specific antigenic effect in itself, may stimulate the immune system, increasing the response to a vaccine. Aluminum salts are used in some human vaccines [1], although a recent study [2] revealed aluminum adjuvants can cause neuron death. The compound QS21 is under investigation as a possible immunological adjuvant[3] as is Novartis's (formley Chiron) MF59 [4]. Another market-approved adjuvant and carrier system are virosomes. During the last two decades a variety of technologies have been investigated to improve the widely used, but unfavorable adjuvants based on aluminum salts. These salts develop their effect by inducing a local inflammation, which is also the basis for the extended side-effect pattern of this adjuvant. By contrast, the adjuvant capabilities of virosomes are independent of any inflammatory reaction. Virosomes contain influenza virus-derived membrane-bound hemagglutinin and neuraminidase, which amplify fusogenic activity and therefore facilitates the uptake into antigen presenting cells (APC) and induce a natural antigen-processing pathway. The delivery of the antigen by virosomes to the immune system in an almost natural way may be a main reason why virosome-based vaccines stand out due to their excellent safety profile. Immunology is a broad branch of biomedical science that covers the study of all aspects of the immune system in all organisms. ...
An antigen is a substance that stimulates an immune response, especially the production of antibodies. ...
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To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...
QS21 is a plant extract that may improve the ability of the immune system to respond to disease. ...
A virosome is a unilamellar phospholipid bilayer vesicle with a mean diameter of 150 nm. ...
Oncology The terms adjuvant and neoadjuvant have special meanings in oncology. Adjuvant therapy refers to additional treatment, usually given after surgery where all detectable disease has been removed, but where there remains a statistical risk of relapse due to occult disease. If known disease is left behind following surgery, then further treatment is not technically "adjuvant". Oncology is the medical subspecialty dealing with the study and treatment of cancer. ...
For example, radiotherapy or chemotherapy are commonly given as adjuvant treatments after surgery for a breast cancer. Oncologists use statistical evidence to assess the risk of disease relapse before deciding on the specific adjuvant therapy. The aim of adjuvant treatment is to improve disease-specific and overall survival. Because the treatment is essentially for a risk, rather than for provable disease, it is accepted that a proportion of patients who receive adjuvant therapy will already have been cured by their primary surgery. Radiation therapy (or radiotherapy) is the medical use of ionizing radiation as part of cancer treatment to control malignant cells (not to be confused with radiology, the use of radiation in medical imaging and diagnosis). ...
Chemotherapy is the use of chemical substances to treat disease. ...
Adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy are often given following surgery for many types of cancer, including colon cancer, lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and some gynaecological cancers. Diagram of the stomach, colon, and rectum Colorectal cancer includes cancerous growths in the colon, rectum and appendix. ...
Lung cancer is a cancer of the lungs characterized by the presence of malignant tumours. ...
Pancreatic cancer (also called cancer of the pancreas) is a malignant tumour within the pancreatic gland. ...
Breast cancer is cancer of breast tissue. ...
Prostate cancer is a disease in which cancer develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. ...
Neoadjuvant therapy, in contrast to adjuvant therapy, is given before the main treatment. For example, chemotherapy that is given before removal of a breast is considered neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
Finally concomitant chemotherapy refers to administering medical treatments at the same time as other therapies, such as radiation.
Other uses The term adjuvant was also adopted by visionary thinker Buckminster Fuller to describe Kiyoshi Kuromiya, who served as a writing partner for several books, including Critical Path, and the posthumously published Cosmography. Fuller chose that word very deliberately to describe the unique role that Kiyoshi had played in his last publications which he wished to acknowledge was a very active one. Fuller's usage comes from the dictionary's definition as "serving to aid or contribute; one that helps or facilitates." In the U.S. postage stamp commemorating R. Buckminster Fuller and his contributions to architecture and science, some of his inventions are visible. ...
References - ↑ "Aluminum salts in vaccines--US perspective" by N. W. Baylor, W. Egan and P. Richman (2002) Vaccine Volume 20 Suppl 3, pages S18-23. Entrez PubMed 12184360
- ↑ "Prototype Alzheimer's disease epitope vaccine induced strong Th2-type anti-Abeta antibody response with Alum to Quil A adjuvant switch" by A. Ghochikyan, M. Mkrtichyan, I. Petrushina, N. Movsesyan, A. Karapetyan, D. H. Cribbs and M. G. Agadjanyan (2005) Vaccine online December 5, 2005 ahead of print publication. Entrez PubMed 16368167
- ↑ NIH "Chiron Corporation will produce the H9N2 vaccine at its manufacturing facility in Siena, Italy. The company will prepare different dosages of the vaccine, which is based on an inactivated strain of the H9N2 virus developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some dosages will contain Chiron’s MF59 adjuvant—a substance designed to boost the vaccine’s protective effect."
The Entrez logo The Entrez Global Query Cross-Database Search System allows access to databases at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) website. ...
The Entrez logo The Entrez Global Query Cross-Database Search System allows access to databases at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) website. ...
H9N2 is a subtype of the species avian influenza virus (bird flu virus). ...
To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, is recognized as the leading United States agency for protecting the public health and safety of people. ...
See also Look up Adjuvant in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...
Wiktionary is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 150 languages. ...
Freunds adjuvant is an antigen solution emulsified in mineral oil, used as an immunopotentiator (booster of the immune system). ...
Oral medication A medication is a licenced drug taken to cure or reduce symptoms of an illness or medical condition. ...
Synergy or synergism (from the Greek synergos meaning working together, circa 1660) refers to the phenomenon in which two or more discrete influences or agents acting together create an effect greater than that predicted by knowing only the separate effects of the individual agents. ...
External links - Straight.com - 'Vaccines show sinister side', Pieta Woolley (March 23, 2006)
- WashingtonPost.com - 'Researchers Race to Boost Supply of Bird Flu Vaccine: Additives Studied as Way to Help Fight Potential Pandemic', David Brown, Washington Post (February 12, 2006)
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