RSS Feeds
Delayed-Type Hypersensitivity and AIDS
- Raphael B. Stricker, MD; and
- Blaine F. Elswood, MA
- California Pacific Medical Center; San Francisco, DA 94120 University of California; San Francisco, CA 94143
The Editors welcome submissions for possible publication in the Letters section. Authors of letters should:
•Include no more than 300 words of text, three authors, and five references
•Type with double-spacing
•Send three copies of the letter, an authors' form signed by all authors, and a cover letter describing any conflicts of interest related to the contents of the letter.
Letters commenting on an Annals article will be considered if they are received within 6 weeks of the time the article was published. Only some of the letters received can be published. Published letters are edited and may be shortened; tables and figures are included only selectively. Authors will be notified that the letter has been received. If the letter is selected for publication, the author will be notified about 3 weeks before the publication date. Unpublished letters cannot be returned.
Annals welcomes electronically submitted letters.
TO THE EDITOR:
The article by Blatt and colleagues [1] shows the prognostic significance of cutaneous delayed-type hypersensitivity testing in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The excellent editorial by Kornbluth and McCutchan [2] discusses the Th1/Th2 switch that plays an important role in the loss of delayed-type hypersensitivity in HIV. Both articles focus on delayed-type hypersensitivity as a diagnostic tool in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).
The concept of using the cutaneous delayed-type hypersensitivity response as a therapeutic tool in patients with HIV has been discussed previously [3]. Topical dinitrochlorobenzene, a potent stimulant of the delayed-type hypersensitivity response, was suggested as treatment for AIDS in 1986. Since that time, long-term use of dinitrochlorobenzene by patients infected with HIV has been reported [4], and a pilot study of topical dinitrochlorobenzene treatment has been done [5]. The theory underlying dinitrochlorobenzene use in patients with AIDS is that stimulation of cutaneous delayed-type hypersensitivity reverses the functional loss of antigen presentation that occurs during the course of the disease [3, 5]. This effect in turn reverses the Th1/Th2 switch responsible for anergy in patients infected with HIV, with consequent boosting of the cellular immune response against the virus [6].
It is time to think of cutaneous delayed-type hypersensitivity not just as a diagnostic tool but rather as the gateway to the immune system in patients with AIDS.
Raphael B. Stricker, MD
California Pacific Medical Center; San Francisco, DA 94120
Blaine F. Elswood, MA
University of California; San Francisco, CA 94143
The Editors welcome submissions for possible publication in the Letters section. Authors of letters should:
•Include no more than 300 words of text, three authors, and five references
•Type with double-spacing
•Send three copies of the letter, an authors' form signed by all authors, and a cover letter describing any conflicts of interest related to the contents of the letter.
Letters commenting on an Annals article will be considered if they are received within 6 weeks of the time the article was published. Only some of the letters received can be published. Published letters are edited and may be shortened; tables and figures are included only selectively. Authors will be notified that the letter has been received. If the letter is selected for publication, the author will be notified about 3 weeks before the publication date. Unpublished letters cannot be returned.
Annals welcomes electronically submitted letters.
- Copyright ©2004 by the American College of Physicians
