Evolution of serum beta2-microglobulin concentrations during treatment of tuberculosis patients

A total of 36 human immunodeficiency virus-seronegative patients were studied in order to evaluate serum beta2-M levels in immunocompetent patients with tuberculosis who were receiving treatment. Six measurements of several clinical and laboratory parameters were carried out at different intervals during the 6 months of treatment. The mean serum beta2-M at presentation was 149 nmol/l and 4 patients had values above the upper normal limit. Significant decreases in the mean serum beta2-M concentration were observed in the follow-up determinations in the patients as a whole (p = 0.002), in the patients with normal (p = 0.039) and in the patients with increased beta2-M at presentation (p = 0.037). beta2-M significantly correlated with erythrocyte sedimentation rate (p = 0.002). The statistically significant decrease observed in patients with both normal and increased beta2-M values at presentation, suggests that the immunological dysfunction responsible for the increase in beta2-M involves most, if not all, patients with tuberculosis. The measurement of beta2-M in conjunction with other clinical and laboratory parameters could be helpful in evaluating the response to therapy, particularly in those patients with increased beta2-M at presentation.