Nagata T, Kiriike N, Tobitani W, Kawarada Y, Matsunaga H, Yamagami S
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Osaka City University Medical School, Japan.
Biol Psychiatry. 1999 Feb 15;45(4):471-4. doi: 10.1016/s0006-3223(98)00082-1.
Despite a prominent malnourished state, anorexics are unexpectedly free from infection. Several studies have shown that the cell-mediated immunity of anorexics might be well preserved, but results are conflicting.
Lymphocyte subsets, lymphoproliferative response to phytohemagglutinin, and soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R) were measured in 7 patients with anorexia nervosa restricting type (RAN), 6 with anorexia nervosa binge-eating/purging type (ANBP), and 8 controls (C).
Compared with controls, significantly elevated percentage of CD4 and CD4/CD8 ratio in ANBP was found. Although there was no significant difference in lymphoproliferative response among the three groups, sIL-2R in RAN was significantly lower than that in the C group, but not in ANBP.
Although detail mechanism still remains to be unknown, some kinds of compensatory mechanism for cell-mediated immunity is working, especially in chronic underweight anorexic patients.
