Clinical, Parasitologic, And Immunologic Observations Of Patients With Hydrocele And Elephantiasis In An Area With Endemic Lymphatic Filariasis

Hydrocele and elephantiasis, major clinical manifestations of bancroftian filariasis, are thought to share a common pathogenesis. The characteristics of 121 patients with hydrocele or elephantiasis in Leogane, Haiti, were compared: 39% of 57 men with hydrocele and 3% of 64 persons with lymphedema of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of infectious diseases 1995-03, Vol.171 (3), p.755-758
Main Authors: Addiss, David G., Dimock, Kathleen A., Eberhard, Mark L., Lammie, Patrick J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Antibodies, Helminth - blood
Antigens
Biological and medical sciences
Blood
Child
Concise Communications
Diseases caused by nematodes
Elephantiasis
Elephantiasis, Filarial - immunology
Elephantiasis, Filarial - parasitology
Epidemiology
Female
Filarial elephantiasis
Filariases
Filariasis
Helminthic diseases
Humans
Immunoglobulin G - blood
Immunoglobulin G - classification
Immunology
Infectious diseases
Lymphatic filariases
Lymphedema
Lymphedema - immunology
Lymphedema - parasitology
Male
Medical sciences
Microfilariae
Middle Aged
Parasitic diseases
Testicular Hydrocele - immunology
Testicular Hydrocele - parasitology
Tropical medicine
Wuchereria bancrofti
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Description
Summary:Hydrocele and elephantiasis, major clinical manifestations of bancroftian filariasis, are thought to share a common pathogenesis. The characteristics of 121 patients with hydrocele or elephantiasis in Leogane, Haiti, were compared: 39% of 57 men with hydrocele and 3% of 64 persons with lymphedema of the leg were microfilaria-positive (P < .001). Circulating filarial antigen, presumably from the adult worm, was detected in 15 (43%) microfilaria-negative men with hydrocele and 9 (15%) microfilaria-negative persons with leg edema (P = .004). Microfilaria-positive men had lower levels of filaria-specific IgG1 and hydroceles of significantly smaller volume and shorter duration than did microfilaria-negative men; hydrocele volume was inversely associated with microfilarial density (P = .001). In contrast, filarial antigen but not microfilariae was associated with filaria-specific IgG4 and decreased lymphocyte proliferation. Antigen status was not associated with severity of leg edema. In this filariasis-endemic area, men with hydrocele are more immunologically and parasitologically heterogeneous than are persons with elephantiasis.
ISSN:0022-1899
1537-6613
DOI:10.1093/infdis/171.3.755