1989 Volume 12 Issue 1 Pages 129-134
The author experienced a case of panniculitis accompanied by OKT 4 epitope deficiency. The patient was a 47-year-old female. Panniculitis was found in the epigastrium, and it was removed and a skin transplantation operation was performed on the area. However, an ulcer formed on that area. Clinical tests revealed leucocytopenia and hyper-gamma globulinemia. Studies using a monoclonal antibody as a peripheral blood T lymphocyte surface marker revealed OKT 4 antigen deficiency. Biopsy of ulcerated skin revealed lymphocyte infiltration in the periphery of adipose tissue and blood vessels. The patient was therefore diagnosed as a case of skin ulcer accompanying vasculitis. When steroid therapy was initiated, juvenescence reactions due to PHA stimulation, which showed low values at the beginning, improved, and there was a tendency for the skin ulcer to heal. The present case is different from those reported in many clinicians' papers, in that OKT 4 deficiency was sccompanied by lymphocyte dysfunction. This is why the author regards it as an interesting case.
