A MATHEMATICAL MODEL FOR THE EFFECT OF TOXICANT ON THE IMMUNE SYSTEM.

In this paper, a nonlinear mathematical model is proposed and analyzed to study the effect of environmental toxicant on the immune response of the body. Criteria for local stability, instability and global stability are obtained. It is shown that the immune response of the body decreases as the concentration of environmental toxicant increases, and certain criteria are obtained under which it settles down at its equilibrium level. In the absence of toxicant, an oscillatory behavior of immune system and pathogenic growth is observed. However, in the presence of toxicant, oscillatory behavior is not observed. These studies show that the toxicant may have a grave effect on our body's defense mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]