DELAYED-HYPERSENSITIVITY IN PRIMARY AND SECONDARY HYPERPARATHYROIDISM - TREATMENT WITH ACTIVE VITAMIN-D

The vitamin D endocrine system, besides its traditional role in mineral metabolism, also affects the immune system. A recent study demonstrated that vitamin D supplementation restored a blunted delayed hypersensitivity response (DH) in elderly vitamin D-deficient subjects. In the present study the DH, as measured by the tuberculin test (PPD), was studied in two groups of patients with a disturbed vitamin D system, i.e. primary hyperparathyroidism (HPT) and secondary HPT due to chronic renal failure. A significant reduction in DH was found in the patients with chronic renal failure when compared to control subjects (4.1 ± 5.3 vs 12 ± 9.3 mm, p < 0.05) whereas only a non-significant tendency to a reduced DH was seen in the HPT patients (9.5 ± 9.2 mm). Treatment with alphacalcidol, a synthetic analogue to the active vitamin D metabolite over 3—6 months did not affect the DH in any of the hyperparathyroid patient groups. Thus it seems likely that other factors than vitamin D were involved in their reduced DH response. © 1990, J. A. Barth Verlag in Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart, New York. All rights reserved.