IgE Antibodies to Chamaecyparis Obtusa Pollen in Patients with Nasal Allergy.

Specific IgE antibody titers to the pollen of Chamaecyparis obtusa (Cypress) and Japanese cedar were determined by CAP RAST in sera from 267 patients diagnosed as having allergic rhinitis at outpatient departments of several hospitals in Metropolitan Nagoya (Nagoya City University Hospital, Nagoya Higashi Municipal Hospital, Nagoya Midori Municipal Hospital, Meijo Hospital). The assay results were correlated with the patients' subjective symptoms, objective signs and skin tests.1) The CAP RAST assay yielded a positive rate of 50.6% for Chamaecyparis obtusa and 73.8% for Japanease cedar pollens.2) Results of CAP RAST inhibition test suggested that while Chamaecyparis obtusa and Japanese cedar have some common antigens, the former also has a certain unique antigen.3) A positive correlation was found between the results of intradermal Chamaecyparis obutusa skin test and those of CAP RAST.