The cell mediated immune response in acute poliomyelitis and its use in early diagnosis

Specific cell mediated immunity to polio antigens was investigated in 22 children suffering from acute paralytic poliomyelitis by the macrophage migration inhibition (MIF) technique. A positive response was observed in 9 out of the 11 patients tested 1-14 days after the onset of the paralysis and in 6 out of the 8 patients tested between 15-90 days. In one case, the response was positive even before paralysis became evident. Out of the 8 patients tested 90-360 days after paralysis, only 3 gave positive results. No response whatsoever could, on the other hand, be observed in the great majority of children tested 1-3 months after having received oral polio vaccine or in healthy adults. These findings demonstrate that in poliomyelitis the specific C.M.I. response can be detected before the circulating antibodies and suggest that possibility of the use of this technique in the early diagnosis of poliomyelitis as well as in the differentiation between this disease and other neurological disorders.