Changes of serum-specific IgE antibody titer during hyposensitization in mite-sensitive asthmatic children

In this study, we used the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to evaluate the changes of IgE antibody titer against Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (D. pteronyssinus) or Dermatophagoides farinae (D. farinae) in asthmatic children after immunotherapy. According to ELISA analysis, a significantly higher mean level of IgE antibody titer to D. pteronyssinus (or D. farinae) was found in nonhyposensitized asthmatic children than in the pediatric control group (p less than 0.001), but there was no significant difference between the group receiving short course (one year or less) immunotherapy and the group without immunotherapy (p greater than 0.05). We also noted the significant reduction of specific IgE antibody to D. farinae and D. pteronyssinus in the hyposensitized group after long-term immunotherapy; namely, 1.5 and 3 years, respectively, compared with the nontreated group (p less than 0.01). Although D. pteronyssinus-specific IgE antibody decreased less rapidly than D. farinae-specific IgE antibody, both kept decreasing throughout the period of immunotherapy. This study also indicates that the ELISA test may be helpful in screening specific IgE antibodies, diagnosing allergic disease, and evaluating therapeutic effects of hyposensitization.