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Guidelines for immunotherapy of antigen-specific defects with transfer factor.
Journal of Clinical & Laboratory Immunology
|February 1, 1984
Summary
Dialyzable leukocyte extracts (DLE) containing transfer factor (TF) show improved effectiveness in treating infectious diseases and immunodeficiencies. New assays enhance TF immunotherapy success by predicting patient response and DLE preparation potency.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Microbiology
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- Dialyzable leukocyte extracts (DLE) containing transfer factor (TF) have shown variable clinical effectiveness in treating diverse infectious diseases and immunodeficiencies.
- Previous challenges included inconsistent efficacy and difficulty in predicting treatment outcomes.
Observation:
- Recent advancements in assays allow for donor screening, recipient monitoring, and potency determination of DLE preparations.
- Specific DLE preparations were tested in patients with selective immunodeficiencies to Candida and Mycobacterium fortuitum.
Findings:
- New assays significantly improved the success rate of TF immunotherapy.
- Patients responded positively to specific DLE preparations, demonstrating clinical improvement and enhanced laboratory test results.
- Certain DLE preparations exhibited immunosuppressive effects in vivo, which were predictable through in vitro testing.
Implications:
- These findings suggest that optimized immunotherapy with TF, guided by new assays, can effectively treat specific immunodeficiencies.
- The ability to predict DLE preparation potency and patient response enhances therapeutic outcomes.
- Guidelines for optimal DLE therapy are proposed based on these improved predictive capabilities.