Total and specific IgE (house dust mite and intestinal helminths) in asthmatics and controls from Gondar, Ethiopia.
Clin Exp Allergy 2000 Mar;30(3):356-8 (ISSN: 0954-7894)
Selassie FG; Stevens RH; Cullinan P; Pritchard D; Jones M; Harris J; Ayres JG; Newman Taylor AJ
Gondar College of Medical Sciences, Gondar, Ethiopia.
BACKGROUND: The role, if any, of parasitosis in the development of asthma remains incompletely understood; both 'protective' and 'predictive' associations have been reported. We report a study which examined immunoglobulin (Ig) E responses to two common helminths in asthmatics living in Ethiopia.
OBJECTIVE: To compare the frequencies of specific IgE antibodies to Ascaris and Necator species and to Der p 1 among 84 adult asthmatics and a referent group of nonasthmatics.
METHODS: A case-control analysis.
RESULTS: Total IgE levels were not different between the two groups. The presence of specific IgE to Der p 1 was strongly associated with asthma (P = 0.001). Raised levels of Ascaris-(P = 0.010) and Necator- (P = 0.001) specific IgE antibodies were more common among referents; there were no associations between specific IgE production to Der p 1 and either of the two parasites.
CONCLUSION: These findings confirm the association between Der p 1 sensitization and asthma among urban, adult Ethiopians. While they also indicate a negative relationship with two indicators of helminth infestation it appears that this is not mediated through the immunological response to common aeroallergens.
Comment In: Comment In: RefSource:Clin Exp Allergy. 2000 Mar; 30(3):304-7/PMID:10691885
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