[Clinical and immunologic characteristics of patients with histiocytosis X]

Characteristic features of the clinical course and immune status were studied in 24 histiocytosis X patients. Immunologic studies were carried out in 15 histiocytosis X patients by the methods that characterize the T- and B-lymphocyte systems, their sensitivity to tuberculin, the receptor apparatus of lymphocytes and neutrophilic granulocytes and autoimmune processes. The immune status of these patients is distinguished by disorders caused by secondary cellular deficit combined with the imbalance of the immunoregulatory cell system. Disorders of the B-cell link of the immune system are less pronounced and there is a drop in the production of natural antibodies and IgM. A high degree of sensitization to tuberculin was detected in the in vivo and in vitro tests, which indirectly testifies to the tuberculous origin of histiocytosis X.