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A patient with systemic lupus erythematosus was studied whose blood serum on repeated occasions showed undetectable levels of haemolytic omplement (C). A detailed investigation of individual C components in the serum of the proposita and her family revealed the absence of functional C2 in the patient and half-normal values in the relatives. C4 levels in the family, but not in the patient, were above normal, whereas the levels of factor B were low in all cases. No abnormalities were noted in C3, C9, or C1INH. Tissue typing showed linkage of the C2-deficiency gene with the HLA-A10/B18 and A9/B18 haplotypes. No linkage with red cell antigens and no relationship with plasma kallikrein levels was found. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article presents a structural study of house dust allergens. Several research teams have developed methods for purification of the allergen, so at the present time there exists a consistent frame of analytical data permitting a few general conclusions on the chemical nature of the allergens. The central method favoured by most investigators for rapidly concentrating the allergen involves the treatment of clarified aqueous dust extracts with benzoic acid, thereby adsorbing allergenic glycoproteins and extraneous compounds.

It has been known for a long time that patients with allergic bronchial asthma or atopic dermatitis benefit from a stay in the high mountains. Several explanations have been forwarded in the past for the favourable effect of the mountain climate on manifest atopic disease. One furthur factor has attracted the attention of several investigators. It has been speculated that, in the high mountains, the dust gathering indoor's might contain an appreciably lower proportion of a universal "house dust allergen" than comparable dust samples collected in the low countries."

The determination of free formaldehyde in pieces of clothing brought by patients with a formaldehyde contact dermatitis, together with patch tests with these samples has revealed that such patch tests are of very little clinical value. The level of free formaldehyde in almost all samples investigated was shown to be lower than the clinically required concentration. Withdrawal of clothes containing formaldehyde from the patient's wardrobe nevertheless is always followed by disappearance of symptoms. The discrepancy between these findings is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the article, four house dust allergen preparations of different degree of purification were examined in various institutes by means of physicochemical analysis, IgE binding, C-assay and cutaneous tests. The philosophy of this approach was that, if a chosen technique has any validity at all in standardization, potency differences among various preparations should reveal themselves in an equal manner, independent of the investigator. House dust extracts were prepared and purified according to a standard schedule and subfractions were coded as published.