• 1 January 1976
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 23  (3) , 471-476
Abstract
The concentration of circulating T [thymus-derived], B [bone marrow-derived], and null lymphocytes was determined in 30 children and 3 adults with Plasmodium falciparum infections in W Africa. During infection, percentage as well as concentration of T cells were decreased as compared to levels following treatment. The percentage but not concentration of B cells was increased in malaria. Percentage and concentration of null cells increased in malaria. Patients with splenomegaly had the most severe alterations in T-cell number; no other historic or clinical parameter correlated with the degree or pattern of change in circulating lymphocyte subpopulations. These alterations were rapidly reversible after antimalarial treatment and presumably represent the sequestration of T cells in the spleen or other organs.