[Evaluation of the development of immunologic response in patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis]

In this study we present epidemiological and immunological data about cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Panama, in an area where recurrence occurs in 65% of the cases evaluated. The development of the cellular immune response, during clinical evolution of primary and recurrent cases, indicates that initial stimulation index (SI) less than 3 are observed in recurrent cases, while this level is higher than 3 in primary cases. The humoral immune response is related only with the time of clinical evolution. We point out the importance of looking at the population of T lymphocytes quantitatively, as well as looking at the levels of lymphokines, in order to explain the differences that we observed in the cellular immune response.