抄録
Having been found that the Dharmendra antigen combined with certain lipid fraction of leprous nodule (the "combined" antigen) gives stronger cutaneous reactions than the regular antigen in guinea pigs sensitized with leprosy bacilli, comparative tests between the above antigens as well as with a standard lepromin were done in leprosy patients, in order to find whether the effect of lipid fraction is seen in Fernandez reactions and/or Mitsuda reactions. The combined antigen was prepared by adding dried residue of the alcohol-insoluble lipid fraction to the Dharmendra antigen so that a weight-ratio of lipid to bacilli is 1: 4, considering the yields of them from the same pool of leproma.
The results of comparative tests between the combined antigen and the Dharmendra demonstrated that the former gives more strong Fernandez reactions than the latter in 85 cases of non-lepromatous type, since a mean of differences in reactionsizes to the both antigens is statistically significant; while that in 406 cases of lepromatous type is not. With respect to the Mitsuda reactions, however, these antigens showed no difference in reaction-size of lepromatous as well as non-lepromatous cases.
Comparing with the standard lepromin, the combined antigen gave somewhat strong Fernandez reactions in 21 cases of non-lepromatous type. On the contrary, the combined antigen gave weaker Mitsuda reactions than the standard lepromin in 98 cases of lepromatous type.
These results indicated that the alcohol-insoluble lipid of leproma has an intensifying effect only to the Fernandez reactions in non-lepromatous cases. In spite of this fact, usefulness of Mitsuda or late reactions to the Dharmendra or combined antigen was discussed, so far as observations in leprosy patients, according to a criterium of positive reactions different from that used for a lepromin.
