Total serum IgE measured with the Phadebas PRIST technique was titrated in 117 normal non-allergic subjects, 237 allergic adolescents or adults and 89 non-allergic patients who suffered from asthma, rhinitis, or conjunctivitis. All subjects were of Caucasian origin. In normal subjects, mean total serum IgE was 38 +/- 43 kU/l. This value is exactly the same as that found in a study of Caucasian New Zealanders and very similar to the values found in most U.S. studies. This suggests that the mean total serum IgE concentration is remarkably constant in normal non-allergic Caucasians. The upper limit of the normal range is considered to be 150 kU/l. 38% of allergic patients have total IgE concentrations within the normal range. Some pollen or hymenoptera venom-sensitive patients have a total serum IgE concentration below 20 kU/l. The non-allergic patients had a mean IgE concentration of 94 +/- 93 kU/l, and 25% of them had a total serum IgE above the normal range. Asthmatic patients had higher mean IgE levels than those who were suffering from either rhinitis or conjunctivitis.
Total IgE, RAST results with tree pollen allergens, and prick test results with birch, grass and mugwort pollen allergens were correlated to 872 hay fever patients' reported food hypersensitivity (FH). A positive correlation was found between FH and the RAST and prick test results with birch pollen allergen. At each level of birch pollen sensitivity the incidence of FH was lower in patients with high total IgE than in those with lower total IgE. A negative correlation was found between grass pollen allergy and FH in birch pollen allergics. It is suggested that antigens in some foods have a specific ability to bridge anti-birch IgE molecules on mast cells. An explanation of the negative correlation between FH and total IgE and grass pollen allergy could be that a high number of non-birch-specific IgE molecules on the mast cells will reduce the probability that two anti-birch IgE molecules should bind on nearby sites.
In a multi-centre study, comprising 16 clinics, 871 adult hay fever patients were studied. Most patients included had springtime hay fever. Skin prick tests were performed with 20 different tree or bush pollen (lignoses) allergens. RAST determinations were done with eight different tree pollen allergens in 590 patients. Birch pollen (BP) allergen gave the highest frequency of positive test results. The test results with the various tree pollen allergens in patients with BP allergy were compared with those in patients without BP allergy. With all the allergens a significantly higher frequency of positive test results was found in those with BP allergy than in those without. Only very small differences were noted between various parts of the country, and sensitization against various tree pollens was common even in regions where the corresponding trees do not grow. It was concluded that a high degree of cross-sensitization exists among tree pollens, and testing with BP allergen is sufficient for the diagnostic screening of tree pollen allergy.
872 adult hay fever patients were investigated with skin tests, using 20 different tree pollen allergens, and Phadebas RAST, using eight different tree pollen allergens. Correlation between test results with the different allergens were studied employing the Spearman's correlation coefficient (Rho). Most combinations showed statistically significant correlations. The highest values of Rho (0.8-0.9) were found for pollen from combinations of trees belonging to the families Betulaceae, Corylaceae and Fagaceae (birch, alder, hazel, beech and oak). High values were also found between pollens from aspen and sallow (belonging to Salicaceae). With several of the trees a high degree of pollen cross sensitization was found, even with trees from a different plant family. Since most of the patients were allergic to birch pollen, some of the reactions to other pollens could be due to allergens shared by birch. To exclude this possibility, a separate analysis was performed for patients having no birch pollen allergy. Even in these patients evidence of cross sensitization was found. It is concluded that cross reactions are common among tree pollens and are most pronounced within botanical families.
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