Plasma thymic hormone activity in patients with chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis

Abstract

To further characterize the immunological abnormalities in patients with chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis, the thymic hormone activity in their plasma was measured. Of the sixteen patients in the study, seven had chronic diffuse candidiasis, five had candidiasis with endocrinopathies and four had candidiasis with thymoma. Only one patient, an anergic child with chronic diffuse candidiasis had severe deficiency of plasma thymic hormone activity. Two patients, a woman with candidiasis and multiple endocrinopathies and an elderly man with metastatic epithelial thymoma had supranormal values.

These studies indicate that the immunological deficit in most patients with these forms of chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis is not due to deficiency of a thymic inductive activity and suggest that an intrinsic defect exists in the maturation of antigen-responsive lymphoid cells.