Immunological studies in onchocercosis patients.

The immunological profile of onchocercosis patients from an endemic region in Venezuela was studied. The sample was made up of patients suffering from onchocercosis and undergoing treatment, persons previously treated and apparently cured of the disease, and a group of apparently healthy individuals from the same area. The results obtained indicate that during the course of the disease the immunological apparatus suffers only slight modifications since no great variations were found in the immunoglobulin levels, the third component of the complement, the reactivity to DNCB, or the response of peripheral blood lymphocytes to mitogens. When under treatment, the levels of serum IgG and IgM are increased and there is a decrease in C3 levels. The slight modifications found can be attributed to the low severity of the disease as only one patient of those studied presented clinical manifestations ascribable to the disease (onchocercoma).