Atopic dermatitis. III. The role of immune complexes in the pathogenesis, assessment of the severity and the prognosis of the disease

Examinations of 78 patients with atopic dermatitis have confirmed the important role played by the immune complexes in the immunopathological and inflammatory processes. In atopic dermatitis elevated concentrations of immune complexes could be detected only in the patients with a severe diffuse process. The findings evidence that the most informative parameters of circulating immune complexes are their size and composition, that are of diagnostic and prognostic value in this condition. Studies of the relationships between the characteristics of immune complexes and the parameters of the immune status of patients have revealed correlations between serum IgE levels and immune complexes IgM, as well as between C4 concentration and size of the immune complexes.