Description
Idiopathic CD4 lymphopenia (ICL) is a heterogeneous entity of unknown aetiology that has received much prominence following the onset of the HIV panendemic in 1983.Most patients are diagnosed when they present with an opportunistic infection whilst a small minority remain asymptomatic. In view of its heterogeneity, it is unlikely that a single pathogenic mechanism is responsible for ICL. Accelerated apoptosis and defective protein tyrosine kinase function have been postulated as pathogenetic mechanisms in a few patients.
