[Usefulness of AlaSTAT, a new method for the measurement of IgE]

AlaSTAT is an enzyme-immunoassay method for the measurement of allergen specific IgE antibodies. This method has a special feature in that carbohydrate, nucleic acid and fat as well as protein allergens can be used as antigens. In this study, IgE antibodies were measured by the use of AlaSTAT kits which were able to detect IgE antibodies to protein or nucleic acid allergens, and the results were compared to those of skin tests and RAST. 1367 samples from 479 patients were examined with 20 allergens. The capacity in the AlaSTAT system was larger than that in the RAST system. The correlation coefficient between AlaSTAT and RAST was 0.90 (p less than 0.01) and the correspondence rate was 90.7%. When the rice allergen was used in RAST, a nonspecific reaction was observed at high concentrations of total IgE. However, no such reaction was observed in AlaSTAT, even with total IgE of 10,000 IU/ml. The sensitivity, specificity and correspondence rate to skin tests was 71%, 87% and 75% respectively. The specificity of AlaSTAT seemed to be slightly higher than that of RAST, but the sensitivity and the correspondence rate were similar to those of RAST. From these results, AlaSTAT appears to be a good or better method for the measurement of IgE antibodies in comparison with RAST.