IgE.IgG4 antibody in eczema in infants between 5-7 months of age. I. Relationship to the degree of eczema involvement]

Assessments have been made of serum IgE and IgA value, specific IgE and IgG4 antibody titers to foods, house dust, mite and percent peripheral++ eosinophil count in 191 infants with and without eczema between 5-7 months of age. Eczema patients were divided into 4 groups according to the degree of eczema involvement and laboratory data were compared between these and not eczematous group. The results were as follows; 1) IgE antibody titers were higher as the degree of eczema involvement increased. 2) RAST positive rates to foods increased with the degree of eczema involvement. Positive rate was highest to egg white followed by milk, soybean, wheat and rice. 3) Only 9 cases were RAST-positive to rice or wheat and all of them had IgE antibodies to other allergens tested. 4) A value of 10 IU/ml, which is the lowest measurable value of IgE in infants was considered to be a little too high to speculate allergy to some foods. 5) Specific IgG4 antibodies were positive only to milk. 6) All the 18 cases with positive milk-specific IgG4 antibody were all negative in milk-specific IgE antibody, and conversely all the 14 cases with positive milk-specific IgE antibody were negative in milk-specific IgG4 antibody. From these results, it was concluded that food allergy is related to the degree of eczema involvement in infants between 5-7 months of age.