Abstract
Complement components CH50, C3, and C4 were measured in serum of 237 patients with nasal allergy or vasomotor rhinitis. These levels were correlated with clinical data to determine the role of complement in nasal hyperreactivity. Complement component levels increased with patient age and duration of nasal hyperreactivity. In the group of 20 to 39 year-old patients exposed to house dust, the C4 level was significantly related to duration of the disease; higher in the patients with 20 years duration than in patients with less than 20 years duration. There was no such correlation in patients with Japanese cedar pollinosis. There was some relation between paranasal sinusitis on x-ray and complement component levels of patients with nasal hyperreactivity, especially in those allergic to house dust.
