T lymphocytes in children with recurrent respiratory infections: effect of the use of thymostimulin on the alterations of T-cell subsets.
OKT3-, OKT4- and OKT8-positive cells were estimated in 303 children with recurrent respiratory infections. The patients (selected by a score method) had experienced 13 or more infections a year. Modifications in T-cell subsets were observed in 154 patients (50.8%). Decreased OKT3- and OKT4-positive cells were present in 80 children (26.4%), while 74 patients (24.4%) showed normal values of OKT3-positive cells but decreased OKT4- and increased OKT8-positive cells. An attempt at treatment with thymostimulin was undertaken in a group of randomly chosen children with modifications in T-cell subsets. The use of thymostimulin induced the treated children more readily than the untreated ones to show improvement in both the score for respiratory infections and the distribution of T-cell subsets.
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000276:immunology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy; D008297:Male; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000276:immunology* / Q000628:therapy; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000145:classification / Q000276:immunology*; D013949:Thymus Extracts / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D013949:Thymus Extracts; C031407:thymostimulin