[Allergic characteristics of bronchial asthma in the elderly]

Allergic characteristics were investigated in asthma patients older than 60 years of age. Among these asthmatic patients: 1. About 37% showed negative immediate skin response to all antigen extracts tested. 2. The frequency of positive immediate skin response to house dust, house dust mite, Japanese cedar and Alternaria decreased with aging. 3. There was no difference in the frequency of positive immediate skin response to Candida antigen among patients in different age groups. Candida was the antigen that most frequently produced positive immediate skin response among the patients over 50 years old. 4. There was no difference between skin-positive elderly asthmatics and young asthmatics in the frequency of positive IgE antibody titer, bronchial response, conjunctival response and histamine release from peripheral leukocytes by specific antigens. These findings show that atopic asthmatics are less frequently found in elderly asthmatic patients than in young patients. Nevertheless, there is no difference in the characteristics of atopy, except in the response to Candida antigen.