| Abstract: | The phenotype of haptoglobin (Hp) was determined and Hp and alpha 1-antitrypsin (alpha 1-AT) were many times measured in the sera of 131 adolescents with first identified tuberculosis. The phenotype of Hp was found to produce no effects on tuberculosis morbidity among adolescents, but Hp2-2 carriers fall ill more frequently if they have a baseline gastrointestinal abnormality. In tuberculosis patients with Hp2-2, resolution of infiltrative changes in the lung tissue occurs less rapidly than in those with other Hp variants. Great increases in the serum levels of alpha 1-AT, which reflects the severity of tissue damages, suggest a less favourable prognosis. By the end of sixth-month continuous combined drug therapy, an inflammatory reaction diminishes and the synthesis of acute phase reactants (APR) becomes normal in patients without baseline lung tissue decay. In the presence of the latter, the intensity of inflammation considerably decreases in the first 3 months of combined drug therapy, then becomes steady-state at a definite level, which is potentiated by continuous invasion of proteolytic enzymes. APR monitoring more accurately assesses the time course of therapy-induced changes in the process. |
