† Ten patients with atopic dermatitis and ten healthy control subjects, matched for age, sex, and skin color, were studied for their peripheral blood natural cell-mediated cytotoxic activity against K562 human leukemia cell line target cells, using the sodium chromate Cr 51 release assay. There was a great reduction in the natural cytotoxic activity of the patients with atopic dermatitis compared with that of their respective control subjects; the patients with atopic dermatitis had a mean value of 41.9l ± 28.3% of that of the control subjects.
(Arch Dermatol 1982;118:568-571)