[Angiotensin converting enzyme in the blood serum of patients with tuberculosis and leprosy].

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) levels in the serum of 15 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis and 9 with leprosy were measured by means of a spectrophotometric method. The serum produced from 10 blood donors was used as a control. Leprosy is accompanied by a sharp drop of ACE levels, which is attributed by the authors to a cellular immunodeficiency. In case of tuberculosis, a higher ACE level in blood often follows fibrosis formed in the lung along with a tuberculin hyperergia. The opinion that the ACE level reflects the tuberculosis or leprosy activity as well as the granulomatous tissue extension in tuberculosis patients has not been confirmed.