Abstract
Objective: We have noticed that HIV-infected patients often show hyper-IgE immunoglobulinemia in their clinical course, and examined the correlation between serum IgE and clinical condition of HIV infection.
Materials & Metheds: (1) We compared serum IgE concentration between 24 HIVseropositive hemophiliacs and 13 HIV-seronegative hemophiliacs. (2) We evaluated the correlation between serum IgE levels and clinical condition of HIV infection in 32 HIVinfected patients (mean age: 33.4 years old, male: 29 cases, female: 3 cases).
Results: (1) The number of patients with a high-degree of hyper-IgE immunoglobulinemia over 1, 000 U/ml was greater for HIV-seropositive hemophiliacs than HIV-seronegative hemophiliacs. (2) The number of patients diagnosed as having AIDS was significantly higher for patients with hyper-IgE immunoglobulinemia than normal IgE immunoglobulinemia. The count of blood CD4-positive cells significantly decreased in patients with hyper-IgE immunoglobulinemia.
Conclusion: These results suggest that HIV infection may affect serum IgE levels in patients with HIV infection and that hyper-IgE immunoglobulinemia may indicate the progression of HIV infection.
