Effect of treatment on the cellular composition of cutaneous lesions in leprosy patients.
We report on the cellular composition of the cutaneous lesions of 38 leprosy patients prior to and after 12-18 months of chemotherapy. All of the patients with tuberculoid (TT) disease had OKT4/OKT8 ratios that exceeded 1.0. In the indeterminate patients, the ratio varied depending upon the immune status of the individual. A low ratio of OKT4/OKT8 cells (0.25) was found in the LL patients as previously reported. The low ratio of OKT4/OKT8 in the lesions of lepromatous patients did not undergo significant changes after treatment in spite of a marked reduction in the number of intracellular bacilli.
D006801:Humans; D007917:Leprostatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007918:Leprosy / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000032:analysis / Q000145:classification; D014382:Tuberculosis, Cutaneous / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology
D007917:Leprostatic Agents