LOCALIZATION OF THE BRAIN LESION AFFECTS THE LATERALIZATION OF T-LYMPHOCYTE DEPENDENT CUTANEOUS INFLAMMATION - EVIDENCE FOR AN IMMUNOREGULATORY ROLE OF THE RIGHT FRONTAL CORTEX-PUTAMEN REGION

We have previously demonstrated that brain lesions caused by stroke le d to the lateralization of T-cell dependent inflammation. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of localization of the brain le sion on lateralization of immune responsiveness, The delayed-type hype rsensitivity (DTH) reaction was used as an in vivo measure of antigen specific T-lymphocyte reactivity. All stroke patients were examined wi th computed scan tomography (CT) of the brain to ascertain the localiz ation and extent of the brain lesion, Patients with right-sided brain lesions displayed significantly larger (P=0.008) DTH responses on the paretic side compared to the contralateral side, Detailed analysis of the localization of the brain lesion revealed that infarcts encompassi ng frontal lobe-putamen led to significantly larger (P=0.007) DTH resp onses on the paretic side compared to the contralateral side, Localiza tion of the brain lesion affects the lateralization of DTH, supporting an asymmetrical modulation of the immune response. In addition, our s tudy points to the frontal cortex-putamen as a putative brain centre r egulating the magnitude of immune responses.