MEASUREMENT OF SPECIFIC IgE ANTIBODIES BY CAP SYSTEM AND COMPARISON AMONG CAP, RAST AND SKIN PRICK TEST.

Paper disk RAST test is widely used for assay of serum specific IgE antibody. Recently, a new assay technique for it, called CAP system, is available from Pharmacia.We utilized CAP system to titrate serum specific IgE antibodies and compared the results with those of RAST and skin prick test. One hundred twenty-six patients with allergic diseases were studied. Serum specific IgE antibodies to 15 allergens were measured by fluorometric CAP system. Then we performed RAST with same sera and skin prick test to the same patients. Correlations between the results of CAP and those of RAST were good in inhalant allergens except for house dust and also in food allergens. CAP system seemed to have better sensitivities than RAST for inhalant allergens, especially for dog dander and for Japanese ceder. As concerns house dust, CAP had less sensitivity than RAST and the correlation between them was not good. Correlations between CAP and spin prick test were also good, and CAP had better sensitivities than skin prick test for inhalant allergens. As a result, CAP system appeares to be a reliable good in vitro test for measuring serum specific IgE antibodies providing some other advantages.