[Interpretation of antitoxoplasma antibody findings]

Between reactions assessing one class of immunoglobulins and reactions detecting all serum immunoglobulins comprehensively such as CFT, there is, as might be expected, a very poor quantitative correlation and thus in individual sera the result of one reaction cannot be reliably added to the result of another (CFT:ELISA/IgG). Even the correlation between reactions focused on the same Ig class (ELISA/IgG: IFT/IgG) is no better. Among reactions assessing specific IgM we consider ELISA/IgM better than IFT/IgM because there is not the risk of false negativity caused by concurrence of IgG. A combination of ELISA/IgG and ELISA/IgM gives good results as a statistical group: the distribution of results revealed agglomerations of sera corresponding to the assumed age of the infection derived from the generally accepted pattern of antibody formation. The applicability of the combination of these two reactions alone for evaluation of individual sera is a promising procedure but awaits further confirmation. Long-term investigations revealed within two years after infection a marked decline of CFT antibodies in the majority of cases but it was not sufficiently clear in ELISA/IgG. Despite the technical advantages of ELISA reactions, elimination af the CFT reaction is not foreseen in the near future. As the minimal combination of methods which provides adequate information we may consider at the present time CFT for assessment of total antibodies and ELISA/IgM for more marked differentiation of the acute stage. Evaluation of the lowest CFR titres considered hitherto as "practically negative" must be obviously revised in subjects with immunosuppression and organ donors for transplantation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)