Passive Transfer of Tuberculin Sensitivity to Patients with Sarcoidosis

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Abstract
STUDIES in various countries agree that approximately two thirds of patients with sarcoidosis fail to react to second-strength tuberculin — 0.005 mg. of Purified Protein Derivative (PPD) or 1.0 mg. of Old Tuberculin (OT).1 2 3 The failure to react is not merely the result of absence of exposure to tuberculous infection, since patients with sarcoidosis proved unable to develop and maintain tuberculin sensitivity in normal fashion after BCG vaccination.2 , 3 This diminished reactivity to tuberculin has been interpreted as evidence both for3 and against1 a tuberculous etiology of sarcoidosis. Two main theories have been proposed to explain this phenomenon:"Positive anergy" is . . .