[Effect of potassium iodide on the immune response in the sporotrichosis.].

Potassium iodide (KI), the specific treatment for sporotrichosis, apparently does not have a direct action on Sporothrix schenckii. The spontaneous healing and the variability of the clinical presentation in the disease have strengthened the idea that the KI rather interacts with the immune response of the host. The phagocytic process is inefficient in individuals with sporotrichosis in whom the microbicidal mechanism of halogenation fails to control the disease. There is evidence that blocking of free radicals decreases in the presence of KI. Humoral and cellular immunity are present in sporotrichosis but its participation is uncertain; it is yet to be determined if in this mycosis the KI influences other processes or factors of immune response.