E--rosettes in leprosy patients.

Early and total E--rosettes counts were made in the leprosy patients of different clinical types classified histologically and compared with those of healthy controls. The T-cell population in LL cases were found to be significantly lower than in other types of leprosy cases and controls. The study of the E--rosette formation at different times of incubation indicated that any point of observation could be used for comparison. However, early (1 hour--2 hour) counts help to distinguish the LL cases from other types of leprosy. A good correlation was noticed between the percentage of rosettes and lepromin test.