[T-activin in multimodal treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus in children]

The efficacy of taktivin was examined by comparison of the time-course of changes in cellular immunity, the course of the underlying disease and the incidence of infectious complications in two groups of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The first group included 49 patients aged 8 to 15 years receiving taktivin, the second one 34 children of the same age not given immunomodulatory therapy. The morphofunctional status of the thymus was studied in 9 cases on autopsy. The prolonged treatment with taktivin (for 4 weeks and over) resulted in an increase of the number of patients with the improved health status and reduction of SLE activity, in a rise of the content of serum thymic factor, activation of the processes of T lymphocyte differentiation, in an increase of the lymphocyte count in patients with secondary infection, activation of phagocytosis, rise of bactericidal activity of the serum, which entailed the elimination and prevention of the development of secondary infectious complications. Taktivin promotes the normalization of the thymic structure and exerts a replacement effect.