Hyper IgE recurrent infection syndrome in South Asia: is there a different outcome?

Hyper IgE recurrent infection syndrome (HIES) is a rare immune deficiency, characterized by recurrent staphylococcal skin and lung abscesses, pneumonia and increased IgE levels. The majority of autosomal dominant HIES (AD HIGE) is due to hypomorphic mutations in the signal transducer and the activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) gene.

Five patients were diagnosed with HIES, based on the clinical criteria and scoring system developed at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), USA. The STAT3 gene was sequenced and previously described mutations were identified in all five patients. We compare the clinical features of our patients with those from Asia, Europe and the US.

Even though the number of patients is limited, there are some clinical differences in patients from South Asia compared to European and even East Asian patients. However, the mutations detected are located at hot spots seen in western and Asian patients with AD HIGE.