title: IgE antithyroid antibodies in patients with Hashimoto's disease and chronic urticaria.
abstract: Although chronic urticaria may be associated with the presence of serum anti-thyroid antibodies, it is not known whether these antibodies play a causal role in the urticaria. We therefore sought to determine whether the anti-thyroid antibodies seen in patients with urticaria were of the IgE class. Using commercial ELISA kits for measuring serum IgG anti-thyroglobulin and anti-thyroid peroxidase antibodies, we modified the procedure to detect IgE antibodies. We examined sera from 20 patients with urticaria who had IgG anti-thyroid antibodies and from 12 patients with IgG antithyroid antibodies who did not have urticaria. Only 2 of 20 patients with urticaria and IgG anti-thyroid antibodies had detectable IgE anti-thyroid antibodies: 1 patient had anti-thyroid peroxidase IgE antibody and 1 patient had anti-thyroglobulin IgE. IgE anti-thyroid antibodies do not appear to play a causal role in urticaria in the majority of patients.
authors.affiliation: Division of Endocrinology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794-8154, USA.
authors.forename: Lourdes B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Concha
authors.forename: Cindy C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Anthony M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Szema
authors.forename: Raymond J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Dattwyler
authors.forename: Harold E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Carlson
mesh_terms: D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002908:Chronic Disease; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000097:blood*; D007453:Iodide Peroxidase / Q000276:immunology*; D013954:Thyroglobulin / Q000276:immunology*; D013967:Thyroiditis, Autoimmune / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D013974:Thyroxine / Q000502:physiology; D014581:Urticaria / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D007073:Immunoglobulin E; D013954:Thyroglobulin; D007453:Iodide Peroxidase; D013974:Thyroxine