IgE antithyroid antibodies in patients with Hashimoto's disease and chronic urticaria.
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.
Concha
Lourdes B
LB
Division of Endocrinology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794-8154, USA.
Chang
Cindy C
CC
Szema
Anthony M
AM
Dattwyler
Raymond J
RJ
Carlson
Harold E
HE
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*
D001323:Autoantibodies; D007073:Immunoglobulin E; D013954:Thyroglobulin; D007453:Iodide Peroxidase; D013974:Thyroxine