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[T lymphocyte subpopulations in anti-HIV-negative drug-dependent patients with intravenous abuse]
H Grosse Aldenhövel1, M Brcanovic, R Kunze
1Marcus-Klinik Bad Driburg, Abteilung für Neurologie.
In the group of patients studied by us, we found a slight disturbance of the balance between immunoregulatory T helper/inductor lymphocytes and cytotoxic T suppressor lymphocytes which is usually characterised by a 2 to 1 ratio. This disturbance was due to the presence of an absolutely and relatively enhanced quantity of T suppressor cells, by which the relation of these T-cell subsets to each other was slightly lower than in the normal controls. The average ratio was 1.37 and was pathologically reduced in 19% of the patients. Activation and increase in the number of T suppressor cells in conjunction with a relative lymphocytosis are probably less due to a directly drug-induced effect than to an adequate immunoreaction to increased antigen stimuli such as infections with hepatitis B virus, viruses of the herpes group and other viral pathogens.
In the group of patients studied by us, we found a slight disturbance of the balance between immunoregulatory T helper/inductor lymphocytes and cytotoxic T suppressor lymphocytes which is usually characterised by a 2 to 1 ratio. This disturbance was due to the presence of an absolutely and relatively enhanced quantity of T suppressor cells, by which the relation of these T-cell subsets to each other was slightly lower than in the normal controls. The average ratio was 1.37 and was pathologically reduced in 19% of the patients. Activation and increase in the number of T suppressor cells in conjunction with a relative lymphocytosis are probably less due to a directly drug-induced effect than to an adequate immunoreaction to increased antigen stimuli such as infections with hepatitis B virus, viruses of the herpes group and other viral pathogens.