[Chronic bronchitis (clinico-physiological, immunological and morphological comparisons)]

A total of 140 patients with chronic bronchitis were examined and distributed into 4 groups depending on the presence and degree of instrumentally recordable bronchial obstruction: chronic non-obstructive bronchitis (CNB), obstruction of the proximal bronchi, obstruction of the distal bronchi, generalized obstruction. In the presence of unmarked exacerbation, the laboratory data in all the groups pointed to a moderate degree of the inflammatory process and tension of the immunity system. The groups of patients with distal and generalized obstruction manifested dysfunction in the production of blood serum immunoglobulins with an isolated increase in the IgM content. Analysis of histological alterations in bronchial biopsies withdrawn from the large bronchi confirmed the immune type of inflammation in CB exacerbation whatever the presence and degree of bronchial obstruction. Based on the character of alterations in the blood serum content of immunoglobulins and morphological evidence for the immune type of inflammation the authors lay emphasis on the originality of the immune response in cases of CB exacerbation with obstruction of the distal bronchi. Describe the time-course of the cellular immunity in the groups of patients with CNB and in those with distal obstruction treated with a drug having a thymomimetic action.