LYMPHOCYTE-TRANSFORMATION TEST IN LEPROSY - CORRELATION OF RESPONSE WITH INFLAMMATION OF LESIONS

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  • 1 January 1976
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 25  (1) , 85-94
Abstract
Lymphocyte transformation tests (LTT) using whole washed and sonicated preparations of Mycobacterium leprae as antigen were studied in 81 patients with borderline leprosy. The results were correlated with the histological and the clinical pictures. There was a good correlation with the histological spectrum, LTT responses generally being higher in the borderline tuberculoid leprosy and lower in the borderline lepromatous cases. Considerable variation was noted in each group of the borderline leprosy spectrum. This was due in part to the degree of inflammation in the skin. Thus, those with inflamed skin lesions had higher responses than those with silent lesions, and even those with borderline lepromatous leprosy with inflamed lesions had higher responses than those with borderline tuberculoid leprosy whose lesions were silent. Those who had reversal reactions, where inflammation is very marked, had very high LTT responses which fell with treatment of the reaction with steroids. The LTT in leprosy is apparently influenced by the occurrentce of hypersensitivity reactions and by the patient''s ability to resist bacillary multiplication.