[Thymalin in the treatment of herpetic stomatitis in children].

Thymalin, a polypeptide drug obtained by extraction from cattle thymus, was used in therapy of 44 children with acute and relapsing herpetic stomatitis. Laboratory studies included direct analysis of fluorescent antibodies in buccal mucosa epithelium to verify the clinical diagnosis and enzyme immunoassay of specific antigen in salivary samples before and after therapy. Enzyme immunoassay was also used to assay antibodies to herpes simplex virus in the blood serum over the course of treatment. Immunity status over the course of treatment was assessed by indirect immunofluorescence with monoclonal antibodies used to study lymphocyte subpopulations CD4+ inductor-helpers, CD8+ natural killers, and CD4+/CD8+ ratio. Thumalin therapy was not conducive to a rapid abatement of acute symptoms in stomatitis; but such therapy is justified, for in helps attain a stable antirelapse effect in children at a high risk of developing stomatitis recurrences.