Whipple's disease. Immunological and histochemical studies of eight cases.

Tissue from eight cases of Whipple's disease was studied by immunofluorescence and by histochemical methods. The histochemical and immunofluorescent reactions obtained in paraffin-embedded sections of tissues fixed in formaldehyde solution were as strong as that seen in fresh-frozen sections. So, archival cases can thus be satisfactorily studied by these methods. The pattern of reactivity of the polysaccharide with a variety of antisera is remarkably similar from case to case. This supports the hypothesis that the organism associated with Whipple's disease is the same from case to case. Possible explanations for the apparent tolerance of the patients to the polysaccharide are discussed.