Autoanti-IgE antibodies in patients with allergic and idiopathic rhinitis

The pathophysiology of idiopathic rhinitis is unknown although evidence is accumulating to suggest that, in a proportion of patients, it may be a more localized form of allergic rhinitis in the absence of other atopic symptoms and markers. Anti-IgE is thought to be a systemic marker of atopy. This study compared serum IgG autoanti-IgE levels in patients with idiopathic rhinitis, perennial allergic rhinitis and normal controls. Serum samples were obtained from 19 patients with idiopathic rhinitis, 17 patients with perennial allergic rhinitis and 10 normal non-rhinitic controls. The presence or absence of IgG1 and IgG4 anti-IgE antibodies was detected using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Eighty-eight percent of the patients with perennial allergic rhinitis had raised levels of autoanti-IgE antibodies in their serum. None of the controls or patients with idiopathic rhinitis showed raised levels (P < 0.001). Although patients with idiopathic rhinitis may exhibit clinical and pathological features of allergy, they do not show raised levels of anti-IgE in their serum.