title: The effect of Levamisole on peripheral blood lymphocyte subpopulations in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis.
abstract: Although Levamisole, an antihelmintic drug, has shown to have some modulatory effect on the immune response in clinical trials and experimental models, its mode of action remains obscure. In a group of fifteen patients with rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis receiving Levamisole on an intermittant regime, simultaneous determinations of the lymphocyte subpopulations were made prior to Levamisole administration and 3 months thereafter. No significant changes were observed either in the absolute or in the relative number of T- and B-cell populations, while a statistically significant reduction was found in the "null" cells. These findings suggest that the immune potentiating effect of Levamisole may at least partially be due to a maturation process of the "null" cells.
mesh_terms: D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology*; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D007978:Levamisole / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects*; D013167:Spondylitis, Ankylosing / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D007978:Levamisole