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Immune Function in Alcoholism: A Controlled Study
Author(s) -
Kronfol Ziad,
Nair Madhavan,
Hill Elizabeth,
Kroll Philip,
Brower Kirk,
Greden John
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
alcoholism: clinical and experimental research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1530-0277
pISSN - 0145-6008
DOI - 10.1111/j.1530-0277.1993.tb00763.x
Subject(s) - immune system , lymphokine , immunology , lymphocyte , natural killer cell , suppressor , t lymphocyte , cell , t cell , biology , medicine , cancer , cytotoxic t cell , in vitro , genetics
Several studies have shown an increased risk for infection and cancer in alcoholic patients. The mechanisms for such observations remain largely unknown. In an effort to investigate the possibility of immunological dysfunction in alcoholism, we studied three immune parameters in 47 hospitalized chronic alcoholic patients and 47 age‐and sex‐matched normal controls. The immune measures were: (1) lymphocyte phenotyping, with estimates of percentages of T cells, B cells, T helpers, T suppressors, natural killer (NK) cells, and cells carrying the activation markers IL 2 R 1 and l 2 ; (2) NK cell activity; and (3) lymphokine‐activated killer cell activity. Results indicate a significant increase in the IL 2 R and l 2 lymphocyte markers in alcoholic patients compared with matched controls. We also found a nonsignificant trend for a decrease in the percentage of suppressor T cells in the alcoholic group, as well as a trend for a negative correlation between the percentage of T suppressor cells and age. There were no significant differences in either NK or lymphokine‐activated killer cell activities between the two groups. Furthermore, there were no significant associations between duration and intensity of alcohol consumption and any of the immune measures. These results suggest subtle alterations in immune regulation in alcoholic patients that cannot be explained solely on the basis of duration and/or amount of alcohol consumed.