Six patients with the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) had exacerbations or recurrences ofpreviously quiescent atopic disease when they developed immunodeficiency. Four developed a different atopic illness from that suffered previously. Atopic symptoms developed within three months after the patients developed AIDS or during prodromal illness. Two ofthe patients were treated with recombinant interferon gamma: both showed a string improvement in symptoms and cellular immunity.These results indicate that cellular immunity, through interferon gamma, may have a role in regulating atopic disease.
IntroductionThe mechanisms underlying induction and control of the allergic response in man are incompletely understood. The observation of a recrudescence of previously quiescent atopic disease in adults with the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) prompted a
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