ABSTRACT
Seventy five patients with acute asthma and 160 apparently healthy individuals as a control group were studied for the first time in Mosul in order to determine their total serum level of IgE, IgG, IgA, IgM, C3c and C4, and specific IgE against 21 allergens. The geometric mean of total serum IgE level of patients was 173.6 lU/ml, while that of the control was 76.9 lU/ml. These two levels were significantly different [P<0.001]. The total serum IgE levels of the tested subjects in relation to their age, sex, specific IgE and treatment of asthma were also determined. Specific IgE antibodies against the allergens were detected by RAST in 36% of patients and 16% of control. Explanations were put forward for this relatively low percentage of RAST positivity in our patients; the most important of which may be related to the exhaustion of specific IgE from the circulation during asthmatic attack. The most commonly detected specific IgE antibodies were those against grass [g2] and weed [WII] pollens in patients and wheat [f4] in control. Elevated serum levels of IgG, IgA and IgM, and normal levels of C3c and C4 were detected in acute asthma