01655nas a2200289   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653001000055653000900065653001200074653001100086653001100097653001800108653001300126653001200139653000900151653001600160653000900176653002000185100001700205700001200222245008100234300001300315490000700328520101600335022001401351       1978                            d  c1978 Sep10aAdult10aAged10aDapsone10aFemale10aHumans10aImmunotherapy10aLepromin10aleprosy10aMale10aMiddle Aged10aSkin10aTransfer Factor1 aHastings R C1 aJob C K00aReversal reactions in lepromatous leprosy following transfer factor therapy.  a995-10040 v273 a<p>Five patients with active leprosy, four with polar lepromatous (LL) and one with borderline lepromatous (BL) disease, were each treated with transfer factor (TF) from approximately 7.4 x 10(9) lymphocytes given in 36 divided doses over a 12-week period. The TF was prepared from blood donated by normal, healthy, lepromin skin test-positive individuals. During treatment all four of the LL patients, but not the BL patient, developed clinical reversal reactions. Histopathologically, skin biopsies in these four LL patients showed evidence of transformation of collections of multibacillary macrophages into paucibacillary epithelioid cells and giant cells. To our knowledge, this is the first histopahtologic documentation of reversal reactions occurring in polar LL. To the extent that reversal reactions are evidence of effective cell-mediated immunity of Mycobacterium leprae, these results indicate that TF is capable of at least partial correction of the immunologic deficit of lepromatous leprosy.</p>  a0002-9637