Objective: To assess lymphocyte stimulation and lymphocyte phenotype evaluation in adolescent patients with anorexia nervosa (AN). Method: In vitro lymphocyte stimulation and flow cytometric phenotype studies were done on 26 hospitalized patients with AN receiving nutritional rehabilitation. The laboratory assessment consisted of lymphocyte subset analysis and in vitro lymphoproliferative responses to mitogens and antigens. Results: Flow cytometric phenotype analysis showed that only a minority of the patients had abnormal phenotype and immune responses, moreover their immune systems were not significantly impaired. Discussion: The cytofluorometric study of immune function does not show significant alterations in adolescents hospitalized for anorexia nervosa. 0 7 996 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Severe infections have been described as a cause of death in patients with anorexia nervosa (Theander, 1970;Warren & Vande Weile, 1973). This raised a concern that malnourished anorexics might be at risk due to diminished immunocompetence. Indeed, leukopenia was found in the 1960s (Pearson, 1967), impaired polymorphonuclear granulocyte reactions were identified in the 1970s (Mant & Faragher, 1972; Palmblad, Fohlin, & Lundstrom, 19n), diminished hypersensitivity by anergy panel was detected in the 1980s (Pertschuck, Crosby, Barot, & Mullen, 19821, and decreased T-lymphocyte subsets (CD4 and CD8) and CD57+ natural killer cells were first described in the 1990s (Pirke, Nerl, Jurgen-Christian, & Fichter, 1992). From a clinical perspective, however, it is important to note that it is currently an accepted practice to hospitalize malnourished patients with anorexia nervosa in medicall psychiatric units, pediatric wards, and adolescent medicine inpatient units, and that no episodes of sepsis or other infectious complications have been reported there (Silverman