[Antilymphocyte globulin in the treatment of aplastic anemia].

Between January 1986 and July 1990, 17 patients with acquired aplastic anemia were treated with ALG or ATG combined with high doses of methylprednisolone. The mean age was 24.3 years (from 4 to 51 years). There were 9 cases with idiopathic etiology of acquired aplastic anemia; in 7 cases aplastic anemia was developed during or after HBsAg infection. In one case aplastic anemia was developed during tuberculous kidney infection. The remission of the disease was achieved in 11 of 17 cases (complete remission in 9-53%, and partial in 2-12% patients). Six (35%) patients did not respond to the treatment with ALG. One patient died of infection and hemorrhagic complications, two weeks after the therapy, without responding to the treatment with ALG. The four year survival rate without recidives was 65% (11/17). Four (23.5%) patients developed clonal diseases: PNH in 2; MDS in 1 and AL in 1 patient, 24, 38, 9 and 6 months after the therapy with ALG, respectively. The age of the patients is a valuable prognostic parameter (all patients under 20 years of age entered the remission), which cannot be said for pretreatment levels of reticulocytes, neutrophils and platelets. In none of the patients adverse effects of ALG were observed. The treatment was conducted in isolated rooms with sterile air circulation. ALG combined with high doses of methylprednisolone, for the majority of patients with aplastic anemia represents a drug of choice and is an appropriate alternative therapy to alogenic bone marrow transplantation, especially for patients with no HLA identical bone marrow donor.