Immunologic disturbances and levels of parathyroid hormone in uremic patients in replacement dialysis therapy.

We studied the changes in cellular immunity in patients in replacement dialysis therapy (RDT) and examined the relationship between T-lymphocyte function and plasma levels of parathyroid hormone (PTH). In a preliminary study we found that increased plasma levels of PTH were associated with a decrease of T-lymphocytes and CDR, an increase in CD8 and a reduction in the ratio of CDR to CD8. In the present study we examined the realtionship between plasma levels of PTH, interleukin 2 receptors (IL-2R) and soluble human CD8 (S-CD8). We studied 54 patients divided into two groups: 26 patients with normal levels of PTH and 28 patients with increased levels of PTH