SERUM LEVELS OF RIST, RAST, AND CORTISOL OF PATIENTS WITH ALLERGIC RHINITIS

It is generally known that in Type 1 allergy, adrenal steroid hormones regulate the production of IgE antibody. This study was carried out to determine whether patients with rhinitic allergy to Japanese cedar po llencan modulate the interaction between the immune and endocrine syst ems normally. The subjects were 61 patients allergic to Japanese cedar pollen, and 14 healthy volunteers served as control. Our study sugges ts that downregulation of the HPA axis may be caused by high specific and non-specific IgE production in patients with allergic rhinitis. Ou r data suggest that cortisol may play a role as an immune-suppressive agent in specific IgE production during the pollen season, as this phe nomenon was not observed before or after the pollen season.