Immunologic Evaluation
Two studies up to now have reviewed the clinical and laboratory evidence for immunologic illness in patients with multiple food and chemical sensitivities. In 50 cases studied by Terr, levels of circulating immunoglobulins, complement components, and lymphocyte subsets fell mostly within the normal expected range and did not correlate with severity of reported illness or length of reported exposure to the foods or chemicals believed to cause the illness. None of the patients had clinical evidence of immunodeficiency or autoimmune disease, and the prevalence of allergic disease was similar to that found in the general population.
Sparks et al studied the 53 aircraft workers exposed to phenol-formaldehyde. Blood tests performed by a commercial laboratory reportedly showed abnormal numbers of TA-1 receptor-positive lymphocytes, various autoantibodies, and low-level antibodies to formaldehyde, trimellitic anhydrides, and isocyanates. Serum from 33 of these subjects were reexamined for the presence of formaldehyde antibodies by Sparks et al and were found to have test results no different from those of controls.
A review of the clinical ecology literature citing results of a variety of immunologic tests in patients with environmental illness fails to reveal a significant common pattern of abnormalities.
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