T-cell alterations in late postpoliomyelitis
A. H. Ginsberg, M. J. Gale Jr, L. M. Rose and E. A. Clark
Northwest Hospital, Seattle, Wash.
The immunologic status of patients with prior poliomyelitis was studied
using two-color flow cytometric analyses. Ten lymphocyte subsets including
subsets of CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, B cells, and natural killer cells
were examined. Eighteen patients presented with clinical symptoms
compatible with the postpolio syndrome. This group was compared with 18
asymptomatic postpolio survivors and 22 age-matched healthy controls. The
results demonstrated significant alterations in CD4+ subsets in the
postpolio group as a whole when compared with normal controls. These
findings reveal definite alterations in the immune status of postpolio
survivors and raise the possibility that immunologic factors may contribute
to late disease progression.