Immunoglobulin deficiency in gastrointestinal allergies.

Multiple gastrointestinal allergies were studied in 98 infants and children. Combined sensitivities were milk and soy in 61, soy and gluten in 34, and milk and gluten in three. Two clinical groups became apparent: those infants with early diarrhea (1-6 months of age) with strong family history of atopy or food allergies and without prior intestinal infection; and those children up to age 3 years who developed chronic diarrhea and gastrointestinal sensitization after an acute viral or bacterial gastroenteritis. Transient or "late turn-on" immunoglobulin disorders were present in nearly half of the milk-allergy infants studied, and in nearly a third of the entire group. Such a high incidence of immunoglobulin abnormalities has not been previously reported in children with allergic gastroenteritis.