[Study of immunologic parameters in parenteral drug addicts (PDA) with condylomata acuminata]

A study is made of the state of cell and humoral immunity in parenteral drug addicts both with and without genital warts. The results reveal alterations in the lymphocyte subpopulations, with a decrease in the T-helper/T-suppressor (T4+/T8+) ratio of both groups of patients. These alterations were more pronounced in those patients with genital warts (p less than 0.05). The alterations in humoral immunity, expressed as a hypergammaglobulinemia IgG and IgM, were similar in both groups. None of the immunological parameters were affected by the extension of the lesions, though the T4+/T8+ ratio was found to decrease with increasing length evolution of the lesions. It would be convenient to perform longitudinal studies of these preliminary data to evaluate the effect of human papilloma virus (HPV) on the immune system.