[Detection of circulating immune complexes using a laser-nephelometric assay (author's transl)]

Using Laser nephelometric measurement a method is described to detect immune complexes, which seems to be suitable for routine studies as well as for specific complex characterisation. Tetanus-Antitetanus complexes are used as standard thus the result is expressed as tetanus complex units (TCU). The method is simple and permits the direct measurement of complexes in native sera. Furthermore it is possible to characterise the complexes either by the immuno-globuline class of the antibody involved or the antigen respectively. Complexes were found with this method in various frequency in all but one group of patients under study (SLE, RA, other connective tissue diseases, malignomas, myelomas, thyroiditis, Grave's disease and healthy controls). Their was a high correlation with two other common techniques to measure immune complexes, e.g. C1q-deviation and C1q-PEG precipitation.