Heightened IgE response to mite antigens in inflammatory neuropathies

In order to clarify the IgE response to common environmental antigens, we m easured the serum total IgE and allergen-specific IgE in 50 patients with G uillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), nine patients with Fisher syndrome (FS), 14 p atients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP), 18 p atients with mononeuritis multiplex (MNM), 43 patients with neurodegenerati ve disorders and 82 healthy controls by ELISA. The total IgE level was sign ificantly higher in patients with GBS (median=135 U/ml, P<0.05), CIDP (medi an=175 U/ml, P<0.05) and MNM (median=199 U/ml, P<0.05), than in the healthy controls (median=79 U/ml), but not in those patients with neurodegenerativ e disorders. The specific IgE to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus was signifi cantly higher in the patients with GBS (56%, P<0.01) and MNM (72%, P<0.005) than in the healthy controls (32%). The level of specific IgE to Dermatoph agoides farinae tended to be higher in the patients with GBS than in the he althy controls (0.05<P<0.1). The patients with CIDP and MNM also showed a s imilar increase in the frequency of mite antigen-specific IgE. As a result, the heightened IgE responses to mite antigens may therefore in part he rel ated to the mechanism of inflammatory neuropathies. On the other hand, such heightened IgE responses in these inflammatory neuropathies may be a refle ction of Th2 cell overactivity, which may induce an intense synthesis of au toantibodies against the peripheral nerves. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.