Immunopharmacologic bases of immunotherapy.

Secondary immune deficiency generally involves more profound defects in cellular than humoral immunity. This type of immune deficiency occurs in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), cancer, malnutrition, aging and following immunosuppressive therapy. Immunorestorative therapies were developed for use in the immunotherapy of cancer. Their experimental use in cancer and other diseases such as infections and autoimmunity has demonstrated their safety and their capacity to improve host responses to disease particularly when the host is immunocompromised. Biologicals such as the thymic hormones and interferon have been intensively studied and are briefly reviewed in this paper. Chemically defined drugs such as levamisole, isoprinosine, azimexon, and muramyl dipeptides have also been extensively analyzed and the action of certain purine-related compounds are discussed to exemplify their immunopharmacologic features. The combined uses of biologicals and drugs are suggested to improve the efficiency of immunotherapy.