The prevalence of mycoplasmal complement-fixing antibodies in sarcoidosis

Complement-fixing antibody titers to Mycoplasama pnuemoniae were measured in the sera of 31 patients with sarcoidosis and 31 control subjects matched by age, sex, and race. Data indicated a binomial distribution and a geometric mean titer of 1:32 in patients with sarcoidosis. In contrast, the control data were skewed,with a geometric mean titer of less than 1:8. Possible explanations include generalized increase in antibody formation, unusual susceptibility to infection with M.pneumoniae, and sarcoidosis as one consquence of infection with M.pneumoniae.