Haarbrink M, Terhell A J, Abadi K, Asri M, de Medeiros F, Yazdanbakhsh M
Department of Parasitology, Leiden University Medical Centre, The Netherlands.
Trop Med Int Health. 1999 Feb;4(2):93-7. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-3156.1999.00367.x.
To assess whether antifilarial IgG4 can be used to study various epidemiological facets of filarial infections, we studied this isotype in 238 individuals resident in areas endemic for brugian filariasis, focusing on the differences between men and women. In the study area, the prevalence of microfilariae was 6.7% and the prevalence of antifilarial IgG4 was 49.2%. All microfilariae carriers were positive for antifilarial IgG4, whereas a proportion of the endemic normals (94/208) and clephantiasis patients (7/14) had IgG4 antibodies to filarial antigens. Data were analysed as a function of gender in distinct clinical groups and stratified for age. The prevalence of microfilariae was higher in males in all age groups, as reflected in significantly higher antifilarial IgG4 antibody levels compared to females. The prevalence of IgG4 increased to reach a plateau at the age of 30 years in both males and females. These results indicate that antifilarial IgG4 antibodies can reflect the differences in the extent of infection in males and females as measured by microfilarial counts, and that this parameter can be used for epidemiological assessments of filarial infection.
为评估抗丝虫IgG4是否可用于研究丝虫感染的各种流行病学特征，我们对居住在布鲁氏丝虫病流行地区的238名个体的这种同种型进行了研究，重点关注男性和女性之间的差异。在研究区域，微丝蚴的患病率为6.7%，抗丝虫IgG4的患病率为49.2%。所有微丝蚴携带者的抗丝虫IgG4均呈阳性，而一部分流行地区正常人（94/208）和象皮肿患者（7/14）对丝虫抗原有IgG4抗体。数据按不同临床组的性别进行分析，并按年龄分层。在所有年龄组中，男性微丝蚴的患病率均较高，这反映在与女性相比，抗丝虫IgG4抗体水平显著更高。男性和女性的IgG4患病率在30岁时均上升至平稳状态。这些结果表明，抗丝虫IgG4抗体可反映通过微丝蚴计数测量的男性和女性感染程度的差异，并且该参数可用于丝虫感染的流行病学评估。
