Effects of dexamethasone and dehydroepiandrosterone in immunosuppressed rats infected with Cryptosporidium parvum.

Treatment of rats immunosuppressed with dexamethasone and inoculated with Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts were treated with dehydroepiandrosterone. A significant reduction in cryptosporidial activity was observed as determined by oocyst shedding and colonization of host tissue by parasites. Dexamethasone treatment alone resulted in decreases in T-, B- and natural killer (NK) cell responses and antibody production that, with the exception of NK-cell activity, were all reversed after administration of dehydroepiandrosterone.