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Background: Purified thymus extracts (pTE) and synthetic thymic peptides (sTP) are thought to enhance the immune system of cancer patients in order to fight the growth of tumour cells and to resist infections due to immunosuppression induced by the disease and antineoplastic therapy., Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of pTE and sTP for the management of cancer., Search Strategy: We searched CENTRAL (The Cochrane Library 2010, Issue 3), MEDLINE, EMBASE, AMED, BIOETHICSLINE, BIOSIS, CATLINE, CISCOM, HEALTHSTAR, HTA, SOMED and LILACS (to February 2010)., Selection Criteria: Randomised trials of pTE or sTP in addition to chemotherapy or radiotherapy, or both, compared to the same regimen with placebo or no additional treatment in adult cancer patients., Data Collection and Analysis: Two authors independently extracted data from published trials. We derived odds ratios (OR) from overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) rates, tumour response (TR) rates, and rates of adverse effects (AE) related to antineoplastic treatments. We used a random-effects model for meta-analysis., Main Results: We identified 26 trials (2736 patients). Twenty trials investigated pTE (thymostimulin or thymosin fraction 5) and six trials investigated sTP (thymopentin or thymosin α(1)). Twenty-one trials reported results for OS, six for DFS, 14 for TR, nine for AE and 10  for safety of pTE and sTP. Addition of pTE conferred no benefit on OS (RR 1.00, 95% CI 0.79 to 1.25); DFS (RR 0.97, 95% CI 0.82 to 1.16); or TR (RR 1.07, 95% CI 0.92 to 1.25). Heterogeneity was moderate to high for all these outcomes. For thymosin α(1) the pooled RR for OS was 1.21 (95% CI 0.94 to 1.56, P = 0.14), with low heterogeneity; and 3.37 (95% CI 0.66 to 17.30, P = 0.15) for DFS, with moderate heterogeneity. The pTE reduced the risk of severe infectious complications (RR 0.54, 95% CI 0.38 to 0.78, P = 0.0008; I² = 0%). The RR for severe neutropenia in patients treated with thymostimulin was 0.55 (95% CI 0.25 to 1.23,  P = 0.15). Tolerability of pTE and sTP was good. Most of the trials had at least a moderate risk of bias., Authors' Conclusions: Overall, we found neither evidence that the addition of pTE to antineoplastic treatment reduced the risk of death or disease progression nor that it improved the rate of tumour responses to antineoplastic treatment. For thymosin α(1), there was a trend for a reduced risk of dying and of improved DFS. There was preliminary evidence that pTE lowered the risk of severe infectious complications in patients undergoing chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

The results of treatment of 161 patients with diffuse forms of peritonitis with, using of the immunostimulators are analyzed. The algorithm of staged complex immunocorrection for patients with acute pancreatitis, including aged patients, is worked out. The use of it improves the results of treatment and allows decrease the morbidity.

The target of the case study was to investigate the efficiency of an alternative combined therapy scheme of herpes simplex infections versus the routine therapy by acyclovir or famvir as applicable to HIV-infected patients. leukinferon was shown to induce the antoherpetic acyclovir efficiency. The use of the latter concurrently with cycloferon for the treatment of infections provoked by herpes simple virus-1 (HSV-1) and HSV-2 in HIV-infected patients prolongs the remission period in case of the above opportunistic infections. The leukinferon anti-herpetic efficiency is, obviously, related with the phagocytosis stimulation and with its positive influence exerted on hemopoiesis. The combined therapy can be stated to be most effective in HIV, clinical stages B1 and 2.

We studied the effect of combination treatment with T-activin and vitamin E on acute toxicity and antitumor activity of cyclophosphamide in mice. Combined administration of these preparations 1.37-fold increased the maximum permissible dose of cyclophosphamide without affecting its LD(50)and delayed mouse death from cyclophosphamide toxicity. Most mice died only 3 days after combination treatment with the test preparations and cyclophosphamide in doses of LD(16)-LD(84). The second peak of death from hematologic toxicity of cyclophosphamide was absent under these conditions. T-activin and vitamin E did not abolish the antitumor effect of cyclophosphamide on mice with subcutaneously implanted P-388 lympholeukemia. Tumor growth was suppressed by 100%.

The paper presents the outcomes of surgical treatment in 117 patients with complicated liver echinococciasis in the past 9 years. Hepatic function and immunity, their pre- and postoperative changes in the combined use of essentiale and T-activin were studied. It has been found that the functional status of the liver, its detoxifying function in particular, largely impairs and immunosuppression develops in patients with complicated liver echinococciasis. The postoperative combined use of essentiale and T-activin led to the normalization of hepatic function and immunity. The combined treatment reduced the incidence of postoperative complications from 34.83 to 17.2%, such as acute hepatic failure, suppuration of a wound and a residual cavity, isolated abdominal abscesses, pleurisy, and pneumonia.

Clinical and instrumental-laboratory investigations have been conducted in 372 patients with chronic antral gastritis (CAG, n = 131), diffuse gastritis (DG, n = 108) and ulcer disease (UD, n = 135). Immunomodulators tactivin and levamisol were added to standard treatment of 75 CAG, 63 DG and 85 UD patients. Healing of the lesions was observed, on the average, on the treatment day 24.3 +/- 0.5 and 18.4 +/- 0.6 in the standard treatment and with the added immunomodulator, respectively. Adjuvant levamisol diminished the number of recurrences of chronic gastritis and UD.

Immune status and condition of regional lymphoid tissue were studied in 28 patients with various forms of acute pancreatitis untreated with immunomodulating therapy and in 12 patients receiving combined therapy including lymphotropic regional therapy with T-activin. Acute pancreatitis patients were found to have aquired immunodeficiency, secondary autoimmune syndrome and reaction of toxic immune complexes the severity of which decreased under the action of T-activin therapy.

Immunofan and tactivin, employed as a means of immunological correction in the complex treatment of adenocarcinoma, decrease the onset frequency of radiation-induced complications and exhibit a pronounced immunocorrector effect. This was indicated by increasing level of lymphocytes (including CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, and CD19+), helper coefficient (CD4+/CD8+), and phagocyte activity of neutrophils, as well as by the tendency to normalization of the HCT-test results. Immunofan somewhat exceeds tactivin in the efficacy of endometrium adenocarcinoma treatment.

The immunomodulating and antimetastatic activity of clinically approved, low molecular weight, standardized thymic peptide (TP) preparations was evaluated in BALB/c-mice. Daily applications (subcutaneously, s.c.; intraperitoneally, i.p.; intramusculary, i.m.) of two commercially available TP preparations (7 consecutive days, 10, 50 and 100 micrograms per mouse and injection) up-regulated the thymus weight and thymocyte counts as well as peripheral blood leukocyte and lymphocyte counts in liver metastases-bearing mice. The immunomodulating activity of TP application was most pronounced and statistically significant for thymus weight and counts of thymocytes, leukocytes and lymphocytes after s.c. administration of both TP preparations and concentrations. I.p. and i.m. TP-injections were less effective at reaching statistical significance, however, for defined dosages and parameters, only. To evaluate the influence of TP on experimental liver metastases, RAW 117 lymphosarcoma cells were intravenously inoculated into BALB/c-mice. TP (10, 50, 100 micrograms/mouse) were s.c., i.p. and i.m. administered daily for 7 consecutive days starting 24 hours after tumor cell challenge. Liver colonization was investigated on day 14 after tumor cell inoculation and demonstrated a statistically significant (p < 0.05) reduction of experimental liver metastases for s.c. (both preparations and concentrations) as well as i.p. and i.m. (dose-dependent) TP-treated mice.

Streptosotocin was administered to 21 test animals and 19 control ones. Preventively, the former were given T-activin, the latter--saline. 73% of the test animals were free of hyperglycemia, insulinopenia, activation of lipid peroxidation, morphologic evidence of beta-cell damage. In control animals diabetes mellitus arose in 84% manifesting with marked hyperglycemia, insulinopenia, LPO activation, morphological signs of beta-cell damage, lymphocytic infiltration of the islets. From the results obtained it can be concluded that T-activin has a prominent protective effect against diabetes mellitus (chi-square = 6.34, p < 0.05) which can be explained by its antioxidant and immunotropic activity.

Edema-swelling of the brain (ESB) is among the urgent problems of modern medicine. The purpose of the research was the study of the effect of immunotropic agents on formation of the pathologic process. It was demonstrated on a model of toxic ESB that taktivin and levamisole possess antiedemic activity. The effect is dose-dependent and is determined by the structural characteristics of the drugs under study. Unlike taktivin, large doses of levamisole demonstrate synergism with the effect of the edematous factor.

Background: Several studies showed that PGE-mediated immunosuppression in cancer patients may be differentially affected by conventional oncologic therapy., Methods: Since there is little evidence about the action of immunotherapy on this suppression mechanism, we investigated the effect of therapy with a thymic agent-T-activin, on in vitro modulation of lymphoproliferative response (LPR) by indomethacin., Results: The results demonstrated that indomethacin added in vitro enhanced LPR in early stage melanoma patients before therapy. T-activin therapy as an adjunct to surgery improved this lymphocyte function; the post-therapy in vitro addition of indomethacin did not significantly affect mitogen response. However, in those patients whose LPR was insufficiently enhanced by immunotherapy (3/8), indomethacin had improved their lymphocyte response. In the control patient group treated by surgery alone, indomethacin significantly enhanced LPR in vitro six months after operation. Although obtained in a small number of patients, our results indicate that the enhancing effect of T-activin therapy on lymphoproliferative response may be, at least in part, due to the effect on PGE-mediated suppressor cell activity., Conclusions: Furthermore, post-therapy in vitro testing may indicate a possible usefulness of this drug combination in some of the early stage melanoma patients.

Fifty six patients with pulmonary tuberculosis were examined. Of them 30 had T-activin in multimodality treatment. To supplement the agent in elderly and old patients was found to elevate the counts of T lymphocytes and T helper cells, to normalize Tx/Tc ratios, to enhance T lymphocytic activity and IL-2 synthesis. At the same time there was an increase in nonspecific responsiveness: enhancement of NKC activity and IL-1 synthesis by macrophages. With this, stimulation of specific antituberculous immunity took place. Normalization of immunological responsiveness and stimulation of specific antituberculous immunity were associated with enhanced therapeutical efficiency.

2 groups of patients operated on knee joints for traumatic injuries were examined. In the study group endolymphatic drug therapy was carried out in postoperative period, in control group of patients conventional way of intramuscular administration of preparations was used. During the treatment, plasmatic cells, macrophages and tissue basophiles in synovial liquor were studied as well as synthesis of nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) in plasmatic cells. It was shown that immune homeostasis of synovial liquor in postoperative period normalized faster in endolymphatic administration. The studies of tissue basophiles have shown that inflammatory process in the knee joint is completed faster when endolymphatic route of drug administration was used. Clinical results evidence of higher effectiveness of endolymphatic therapy in comparison with conventional method of treatment in postoperative period. In the former case the inflammatory process was completed by the 5th day, in the latter--by the 7th-9th day. The endolymphatic therapy in all the patients resulted in healing of operation wounds by primary intention. In the group of patients treated by standard methods, suppuration of the wound was detected in 6 from 27 patients and postoperative synovitis in 7-9 days was observed in 6 patients.

We studied the effects of regional lymphotropic immunostimulating therapy on alterations in immunoglobulins levels both in blood serum and paranasal sinuses mucosal secretion in patients with acute and chronic purulent sinusitis. Solutions of tactivin, lidase and novocain were administered into the area of the submaxillary lymph nodes. The effect was compared to that obtained after subcutaneous administration of tactivin and conventional therapy. No reliable alterations in systemic humoral immunity in response to lymphotropic immunostimulating therapy was reported in acute sinusitis, while in chronic sinusitis an increase in initially low IgA occurred. Regional lymphotropic administration of tactivin promoted a pronounced decrease in the initially elevated levels of SIgA, IgA and IgG in the secretion of paranasal mucosa in acute purulent sinusitis, and an increase of basaline lowered SIgA, a fall in the IgG concentration in chronic purulent sinusitis. This is indicative of effectiveness of this method of immunostimulator administration on local immunological reactivity of the mucous membrane.

A sharp decrease in the characteristics of nonspecific protection and humoral immunity in mixed infections (Pseudomonas aeruginosa + fungi of the genus Candida) in cases of burn traumas was established. Under these conditions an increase (up to 100%) in the number clones with the signs of pathogenicity and multiple medicinal resistance in the populations of infective agents, accompanied by a high death rate among the animals (up to 60%), was observed in the dynamics of the infectious process. The use of immunomodulators (tactivin and sodium nucleinate + lidocaine) contributed to the restoration of the phagocytic function of peripheral blood lymphocytes and humoral immunity, as well as to a decrease in the death rate of the animals. At the same time a considerable decrease in the number of clones with the signs of pathogenicity was observed in the populations in infective agents, isolated from the animals in the process of treatment.

We investigated the clinical and immunological effects of T-activin therapy in early stage melanoma patients. Several immune parameters (the number of T cells-E-RFC and CD3+, their subsets-CD4+ and CD8+, the number of CD38+ and CD16+ cells, and mitogen-induced lymphoproliferative response-LPR) were analyzed in relation to the clinical course of the disease in patients treated by T-activin in addition to the surgery (n = 8), and in control patients treated by the surgery alone (n = 9). Immunological tests were performed before therapy and one month after the last (6th) cycle of T-activin, i.e. six months after surgery in controls. The patients were followed-up from February 1991 to August 1995. Clinical evaluation showed that disease-free interval for observed period was similar in both groups of patients (17.5 and 13 months), while the survival time was longer in T-activin-treated patients than in controls (40 vs. 24 months), although this difference was not significant. The phenotyping analysis of peripheral blood lymphocytes showed no changes of the pretreatment values of total T cells and their subpopulations regardless the clinical course of the disease in both groups of patients. The number of NK cells (CD16+) was significantly increased after T-activin therapy, but this increase was not associated with clinical benefit, since it was seen in patients with the progression of the disease. In control patients, the initial number of CD16+ cells did not change significantly, irrespective of the clinical course. The lymphoproliferative response increased significantly in 4 out of 5 T-activin-treated patients with the progression of the disease, while a slight increase of this lymphocyte function was seen in 3 disease-free patients. In patients treated by surgery alone, especially those with disease progression, the LPR was significantly decreased six months after tumor excision. These findings, although obtained in small number of patients, suggest an immunomodulatory action of T-activin therapy in early stage melanoma patients, which did not correlate with the clinical course of the disease. On the other hand, an almost doubled survival time in T-activin-treated patients in comparison to the controls, may indicate a possible effect of T-activin therapy on some other immune functions not evaluated in this study. Further investigations in a larger number of patients is needed for assessment of the true effectiveness of such therapy.

Sixty-three patients with congenital and acquired defects and deformations of facial bones without concomitant diseases were examined. Twenty-eight of them were operated on; auto- and alloplasty was resorted to in 18 patients, and to 10 patients tactivin was administered after common protocols for immunocorrection before or after surgery. Immunologic and clinical studies showed that immunodeficiency states are the most probable causes of postoperative complications following repair surgery on the facial bones. Tactivin normalized the immunity parameters and prevented the development of postoperative complications.

Examinations of 46 patients with acute inflammatory diseases of the maxillofacial area revealed a reduction of some immunity parameters. Thymic activity of the saliva and blood was found to reduce still more after surgery (opening of the phlegmon). The ratio of thymic activities of the saliva and blood may be an indirect evidence of a tendency in development of an inflammatory process. The authors demonstrated the efficacy of correcting immunity parameters by tactivin, which was particularly effective in grave cases. Tactivin concentrations in the blood and saliva, their time course and ratio may be considered as additional criteria for assessing the status of patients and the risk of complications.

Results were studied of use of T-activin in those clinical settings related to acute inflammatory diseases of the kidneys. There was a positive clinical effect from this preparation in all twenty-eight patients with acute purulent pyelonephritis, accompanied by readjustments in the patients' immune system. A rise to the norm was found to occur in T-helper counts, and accordingly, immunoregulatory index, NK-cell activity, blood microbocydic activity. The in vitro investigations done suggested the need for individual testing of immunocompetent cells of the patient to optimize the therapy.

Immunomodulating drug tactivin was used for treatment of 29 IHD patients with low T-suppressor activity and high cell sensitization to apoprotein B-containing lipoproteins and with lipoprotein-antibody immune complex detected in the blood. Tactivin was injected subcutaneously in the dose 10 micrograms (5 injections for 12 days). Tactivin treatment normalized T-suppressor activity, lowered concentration of plasma lipoprotein-antibody immune complex and improved clinical course of IHD. The beneficial effect of tactivin was observed in 70% of patients during 2 months. 30% of patients needed a second course of treatment of recover normal immunological and clinical indices. The treatment with tactivin of IHD patients must be combined with application of routine antianginal drugs.

Tactivin was tried in combined therapy of 49 new-onset cases with destructive pulmonary tuberculosis and gastrointestinal lesions. 52 controls received antibacterial drugs alone. Tactivin increased T-lymphocyte count and improved their subpopulations proportion in a shorter period of time. Immunochemotherapy contributed to efficacy of the main and associated disease treatment. Healing of the destruction foci occurred in 87% versus 70% in controls, side effects of antibacterial drugs and exacerbations of gastrointestinal diseases arose 2-2.5 times less frequently.

The paper presents results of the in vitro study of the immunomodulating effect of T-activin in 54 patients with active primary pulmonary tuberculosis, with the purpose of establishing criteria for initiating the therapy with this preparation. The most sensitive test for the determination of immunomodulating effect of T-activin in vitro appeared to be the reaction of active rosette forming (Ea-RFCs). The investigations performed showed that the preparation of the thymus gland can be recommended for use in those patients only, in whom there is striking or moderate decrease in the count of active RFCs. In the presence of their normal content T-activin may bring about depression of cellular immunity.

Immunological reactivity and factors of nonspecific body defense were studied in 35 patients with advanced chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Prior to cytostatic therapy, CML patients have secondary combined immunodeficiency manifesting by inhibition of T-system immunity and phagocytic neutrophil activity. Repeated courses of myelosan chemotherapy aggravate the above immune defects. The adjuvant immunomodulator tactivin corrects cellular immunity and reduces the occurrence of infectious complications 1.77-fold.

The immune status was studied during the development of the disease in 182 children who were operated on for acute appendicitis. T lymphocytes and their subpopulations circulating in the blood, as well as B lymphocytes, immunoglobulins A, M, G, and immune complexes were determined. The character of changes of these values before the operation and in various postoperative periods were determined. The effect of complex treatment, including T-activin, on the clinical and immunological parameters in children with acute appendicitis was appraised. Analysis of the results showed that a transitory immunodepressive state forms in children with the disease, which is more marked in the destructive form, with normalization of the main values of cell-mediated and humoral immunity by the 7th day after appendectomy. In a complicated course of acute appendicitis the state of immunodeficiency is torpid in character and does not return to normal values even after clinical recovery, i.e. before discharge from the clinic. Inclusion of the immunostimulating agent T-activin into the complex treatment of patients with appendicitis ensures a more rapid involution of the main clinical manifestations of the disease. The therapeutic effect was most pronounced in destructive appendicitis: after 3 days of treatment the pain syndrome was encountered twice less frequently and intestinal paresis more than twice less frequently in these patients, and the term of hospital stay (8.8 +/- 0.4 days) was less shorter than for children of the control group (12.2 +/- 1.9 days) who did not receive T-activin in the therapeutic complex.

The antiradiation efficiency of low molecular thymic preparations (vilosen, thymogen) was determined. The therapeutic activity of thymic preparations is due to their influence on basic radiation injury syndromes (hemopoietic, gastrointestinal, immunodepressive). The protective mechanisms and perspectives of thymic preparations using in pathogenic therapy of radiation diseases are discussed.

The authors examined 48 patients with peritonitis (20 with the generalized and 28 with the localized form). The content of T-lymphocytes, theophylline-resistant and theophylline-sensitive T-lymphocytes, leukocyte chemotaxic activity, and the lymphocyte ATP content were studied. It was found that the state of the immune system in the early postoperative period allows the severity of the disease and its outcome to be prognosticated. A sharp decrease in the T-lymphocyte content and decrease of the amount of ATP in the lymphocytes in stable reduction of chemotaxic activity is an unfavorable prognostic sign. Introduction of indirect electrochemical oxidation with a sodium hypochlorite solution into the complex of intensive therapy produces, in addition to a marked detoxification effect, a stabilizing effect on metabolic processes in the lymphocytes and activates the cellular link of immunity. Combined immunocorrection with the agents tactivin and leukinferon possesses a high potential of an immunobiological effect and can be recommended for correction of severe secondary immunodeficiency in patients with generalized peritonitis.

105 patients with chronic diffuse diseases of the liver were examined clinically, biochemically and immunologically. The examination included investigation of serum thymic activity, subpopulation of peripheral blood lymphocytes using monoclonal antibodies, immunoglobulins (A, M, G) and CIC. Thymic activity in the serum was low in chronic persistent hepatitis, much lower in chronic active hepatitis and the lowest in hepatic cirrhosis. Thymic activity correlated with the process activity and compensation, peripheral blood levels of T-lymphocytes, T-helpers, T-suppressors. The conclusion is made on thymic deficiency in chronic diffuse hepatic diseases. Correction of chronic secondary thymic insufficiency with T-activin produced a good clinical response.

The paper provides the results of treatment of chronic pulmonary tuberculosis patients by using immunoactive drugs (thymalin and T-activin) and prednisolone, which has been performed by monitoring immunological parameters. The patients with fibrous and cavernous tuberculosis display a combination of antituberculous antibody hyperproduction and specific cell-mediated response inhibition. Immunological hormone therapy allows normalization of the immunological status (an increase in the count and functional activity of T-lymphocytes) and relative stabilization of the process with cessation of bacterial isolation in shorter periods than in the controls, which is favourable to the reduction in hospital treatment periods.

Apical periodontitis was simulated in 100 white rats with secondary immunodeficiency induced by a single total x-ray irradiation with the RUM [correction of PYM]-17 device. Nonspecific resistance of the rat body was assessed from the neutrophilic phagocytic activity, serum bactericidal activity, lysozyme and complement levels. These parameters were found reduced in the experimental animals; x-ray examinations revealed changes round the dental root apices. Daily injections of tactivin for 10 days in a dose 2-5 mg/kg b.m. resulted in elevation of the nonspecific resistance parameters, and the x-ray picture in this group of animals was the same as in intact controls; therefore, tactivin normalized the immunity system status and indirectly improved the clinical course of apical periodontitis.

Nonspecific ulcerative colitis (NSUC) varying in severity was treated by conventional methods (49 patients) against combined treatment including tactivin (93 patients). All the patients were examined immunologically at admission and in the course of the treatment. The drug produced a positive effect on immunological status, treatment effectiveness rose, NSUC exacerbations rapidly attenuated.

Cellular immunity and blood serum levels of parathyroid hormone have been studied in patients with gestoses depending on the disease severity. Progressive immune depression accompanied by a parallel drop in parathyroid hormone level up to critical values has been demonstrated in patients with eclampsia. The patients with pre-eclampsia were treated postoperatively with t-activin. Cellular immunity was compared in patients on and off t-activin. A marked immunostimulating effect of the drug on T-lymphocytes and especially on theophylline-resistant T-lymphocyte subpopulations has been revealed. The effect of t-activin was most marked on the 3rd-5th day of the postoperative period.

T-activin administered to rats after exposure to whole-body 1.5 Gy neutron- and 6 Gy X-radiation increases considerably the thymosin-like serum activity, accelerates cellularity restoration in the thymus and spleen, but does not influence the survival rate. Ionol administered prior to X-irradiation reduces the postirradiation hypercorticism reaction and the indirect effect of radiation on lymphoid organs which it is responsible for. The combined injection of ionol and T-activin increases the thymosin-like serum activity and spleen cellularity to the highest possible level and increases the survival rate of rats from 24 to 64 per cent and the lifespan up to 6 days.

The dynamics of the synthesis of active oxygen forms by neutrophilic granulocytes was studied and compared in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) given conventional therapy (n = 14) and combined therapy with the use of tactivin (n = 17). Evaluation of spontaneous fluorescence of neutrophils (FN) and of that induced by suspension of the killed Staphylococcus culture revealed an increase of the latter one after tactivin treatment, which was accompanied by the regression of articular and cutaneous syndromes and trophic disorders. It has been discovered that the dynamics of FN in the treatment with the use of tactivin was dependent on the initial characteristics of the synthesis of active oxygen forms.

Age-specific and related to DTG severity lowering of T-lymphocyte count, active and autologous T-lymphocyte number, thymic serum activity were found in 83 DTG patients. These shifts made justified the use of immunomodulator tactivin in 32 DTG patients. The drug was administered in daily subcutaneous doses (1 ml of 0.01% solution) for 5 days. As a result, the T-cell immunity returned to normal values. The highest response occurred in young subjects with moderate hyperthyroidism. Because a single tactivin course failed to bring up a persistent effect, repeat courses are needed to achieve good clinical and immunologic responses.

The purpose of this experiment was to investigate the suppression of autoimmune thyroiditis in guinea-pigs by prolonged stimulation of T-cellular immunity with T-activin, a thymic hormone. The development of experimental autoimmune thyroiditis (EAT) at early stages was shown to be characterized by deficiency of T-cells of helper and suppressor phenotypes, hypersecretion of thyroid hormones and insignificant development of a thyroid autoimmune process. With disease development indices of peripheral blood immunity of guinea-pigs were close to normal, and the frequency and degree of lymphoid infiltration of the gland were increased in parallel with the development of hypofunction of the organ. Immuno-correction of developing EAT with injections of T-activin according to our scheme resulted in a prolonged stimulation of T-cellular immunity, prevented sensitization of lymphocytes with thyroid antigens, increased secretion of the thymic hormones in parallel with a decrease in a degree of lymphoid-plasmacytic infiltration from thyroid tissues, indicating suppression of the disease.

Therapeutic efficacies of thymalin and T-activin were assessed in 80 patients with ophthalmic herpes. Thymic hormone preparations are recommended for the treatment of a protracted condition. To monitor the course of immunomodulating therapy, the neutrophil injury index and measurements of secretory IgA in the lacrimal fluid may be used, besides the routine tests.

The study was undertaken to examine myocardial morphological alterations in mice treated with T-activin in different periods of viral myocarditis. Two-month BALB/C mice of both sexes were used in the experiments, which were intraperitoneally given 0.2 ml Coxsackie B1 virus in a titer of 10(-3)-10(-7) D50 ml. The material was taken 3, 5, 7, 9, 15, and 30 days following infection. Intact mice and animals given culture fluid were applied as controls. T-activin was subcutaneously injected in a dose of 0.2 ml at the rate of 0.01 mg per kg body weight on day 5 after virus infection for 5 days. The predominance of an alterative component of inflammation (dystrophic, necrobiotic and necrotic changes) over proliferative processes was ascertained to be common to all periods of infection. T-activin administration attenuated myocardial damage.

The effect of hemosorption on adrenal steroidogenic reactions has been studied in 75 patients with sepsis. Different variants of steroidogenesis optimization have been used. Hemosorption led to an increase in the level of steroid hormones, with this background retained throughout the whole treatment period. The most effective of all the variants of stress adrenal steroidogenic reactions optimization was the application of B, B1, B6, B12 vitamin complex and taktivin. The least effective was the application of B vitamin complex, taktivin and ultraviolet blood irradiation. The technique elaborated makes it possible to avoid an increase in steroid blood level during treatment, which must have a favorable effect on the recovery of immune homeostasis in the patients.

An analysis of results of complex clinico-immunological studies in 110 patients with liver cirrhosis complicated by portal hypertension has been made. A scheme of immunocorrective therapy with T-activin in patients with liver cirrhosis complicated by portal hypertension is substantiated and developed for performing roentgen endovascular interventions.

A clinicoimmunological examination was performed in 70 patients with acute inflammatory disease of internal genitalia. All the patients received a multimodality anti-inflammatory therapy. They were divided into 2 groups: 1) 30 patients taking ++T-activin as an adjuvant and 2) 40 patients untreated with it. T and B lymphocytes were measured by current cytofluorometry+ by means of monoclonal antibodies and the rosette-forming method. A subpopulation analysis of the T-cell immune system revealed lower T-helper count and decreased immunoregulatory index. ++T-activin used in the multimodality therapy for acute inflammatory diseases of internal genitalia improved the qualitative parameters of regulatory T-cell subpopulations, returned T and B lymphocytes to normal levels and elevated IgG concentrations.

The authors sum up the experience gained in tactivin therapy of patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis and analyze the effects of this drug on the patients' cellular and humoral immunity. Thirty patients with various forms of the condition were subcutaneously injected tactivin in a dose of 40 micrograms for 10 days. Biochemical parameters were virtually unchanged after therapy, whereas the immunity parameters evidenced essential shifts in humoral and cellular immunity. Clinical and laboratory data indicate a sufficiently high immunocorrective effect of tactivin in therapy of patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis.