IMMUNOLOGICAL RECOVERY AFTER BONE-MARROW TRANSPLANTATION FOR SEVERE APLASTIC-ANEMIA - A BRAZILIAN EXPERIENCE

Twenty-nine patients with severe aplastic anaemia (SAA) were submitted to bone marrow transplantation (BMT) and their immunological recovery analysed. Total lymphocyte counts, estimation of B lymphocytes, T lym phocytes and their subsets, natural-killer (NK) activity were performe d. Cells with the CD8(+) phenotype and NK activity were the first sign s of immunological recovery, whereas the CD4(+) subset recovered later in patients who suffered from acute graft versus host disease (GvHD) and infections. Acute and chronic GvHD, cirrhosis, rejection and HIV v iral infection contributed to the persistence of the profound immunode ficiency status observed after BMT. Our results did not differ greatly from the others and confirmed that BMT may be performed in underdevel oped countries despite the difficulties it might pose.