A case of hyperimmunoglobulinemia E treated with cow's milk and egg-free diet

This report is of seven-year-old girl with a lifelong history of severe eczema, intestinal features of food allergy, recurrent respiratory tract infections, chronic bilateral keratitis and mucocutaneous candidiasis. Immunological tests showed high serum IgE levels, with specific IgE antibodies to cow's milk and egg white, defective PMN chemotaxis and a marked defect in both the function and number of T-lymphocytes. On a cow's milk-free and egg-free diet the eczema subsided and the respiratory infections improved. A partial correction of the immunodeficiency was also observed. The relationships between the immune system and atopy are discussed.