Anticardiolipin antibodies in patients with primary immunodeficiency diseases.

The presence of antibodies to cardiolipin was determined (by an ELISA) in 143 patients with primary immunodeficiency diseases. Thirty (21%) had raised anticardiolipin antibody levels compared with only three in 98 age matched controls. The highest prevalence of this autoantibody was found in the Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome. Patients with selective IgA deficiency also showed a high prevalence of this autoantibody (32%), while patients with severe defects in antibody production showed a low prevalence or did not have such autoantibodies. This study provides further evidence of the association between autoimmune phenomena and primary immunodeficiency diseases.