Influence of Uræmia on the Survival of Skin Homografts

Abstract

COUCH et al. ¹ have shown that homografts of skin may survive for prolonged periods in a uraemia patient. They considered that this extended survival might be due to an impairment of immune responses in the patient. However, there is evidence to show that in patients with both acute and chronic uræmia the production of certain classical antibodies is within normal limits^1–4. Stoloff et al. ³ have suggested that while the synthesis of classical antibodies may be impaired by uræmia, the production of intra-cellular antibodies may be inhibited. However, in chronically uræmic patients the Mantoux test may be positive, implying that the formation of intracellular antibodies may also be maintained².