Abstract
With advancing age there is a gradual increase of skin reactivity to PHA and to STK up to the youth and adult life [1, 2]. Some biopsics carried out in adolescents and adults demonstrated that the histology of both the skin reactions to STK and to PHa corresponds to that of delayed hypersensitive reactions [3].
The present investigation deals with the histology of skin reaction to STK and PHA in childhood. The following results were obtained: (a) in the first 2 years of life the positive reactions to STK are unusal and feeble. In this period of life the histology of the positive reactions assumes an aspecific pattern; it does not correspond to that of the delayed hypersensitive reactions. On the contrary, from the 6th to 8th year of life delayed hypersensitive reacions were obtained, comparable with those observed in adults. (b) As regards PHA, the reactions are always positive and many are very strong during the 1st year of life. Nevertheless, the first small perivascular in[i]trates of lymphomononuclear cell may be observed only from the 6th to 8th year of life: furthermore, this finding is muc weaker than in adult life.
The results confirm the age dependency of skin reactivity and suggest the possibility of understanding why some reactive discases have a different behavior at different ages.
1. Lancet, ii: 411 (1968).
2. Mschr. Kinderheik. (in press).
3. Pathol. Eur., 4: 138 (1969).
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Burgio, G., Curtion, E., Genova, R. et al. 24. Skin reactivity in childhood—phytohemagglutinin(PHA) skin test and streptokinase(STK) skin test. Pediatr Res 5, 88 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197102000-00029
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197102000-00029
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