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Alteration of Food-Antigen Specific Serum IgE and IgG in Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Functional Dyspepsia
Dr. Lynn Averill, MD, PhD
Zuo XL, Li YQ, Li WJ, Guo YT, Lu XF, Li JM, Desmond PV. Alterations of food antigen-specific serum immunoglobulins G and E antibodies in patients with irritable bowel syndrome and functional dyspepsia. Clin Exp Allergy. 2007 Jun;37(6):823-30. (Click here to view/order article at Pubmed) Dr. Averill:
Patients with irritable bowel syndrome had higher IgG levels to crab, egg, shrimp, soybean, and wheat than healthy controls
Patients with functional dyspepsia had higher IgG levels to egg and soybean
Patients with irritable bowel syndrome and functional dyspepsia should be tested in the IgG food panel as elimination of the foods reactive to may improve symptoms
Patients with asthma and elevated IgE antibodies should be tested for IgG levels to milk and soybean as there has been shown to be raised IgG antibodies to food antigens in patients with asthma caused by milk allergy and patients with atopic dermatitis and or bronchial asthma caused by soybean allergy.
In addition, IBS and FD symptoms may also be related to abnormal intestinal bacteria, caffeine, alcohol, low dietary fibre, overgrowth of intestinal yeasts and excessive dietary sugars.
Symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
Pain or abdominal discomfort accompanied by two or three symptoms such as relief with defecation and/or with alterations in the frequency of evacuations or in the shape of the feces for at least 12 weeks which need not be consecutive in the preceding 12 months in the absence of organic GI diseases
Symptoms of Functional dyspepsia (FD)
Persistent or recurrent symptoms, such as pain or discomfort in the upper abdomen at least 12 weeks earlier, not necessarily serial, during the preceding 12 months.
The percentage of individuals with detectable positive food antigen specific IgE antibodies of the three groups did not show any significant differences. There was no significant difference between IBS patients, FD patients, and controls in the serum total IgE antibody titres. This suggests that an IgE mediated hypersensitivity response to food is unlikely to play an important role in most of the IBS and FD patients
Lastly no significant correlation was seen between symptom severity and serum food antigen-specific IgG antibody titres both in IBS and FD patients.
Recently ZAR et al have shown elevated IgG titres in IBS patients while Atkinson have demonstrated that food elimination based on IgG antibodies may be effective in reducing IBS symptoms. Other studies have shown food allergy is also present in functional dyspepsia which has overlapping symptoms with IBS
Raised IgG antibodies to food antigens have also been reported in patients with asthma caused by milk allergy and patients with atopic dermatitis and or bronchial asthma caused by soybean allergy. Exclusions of offending foods from diet have shown to improve symptoms in these diseases.
Physicians may be testing IgE for asthma and instead may also look for offending foods as listed above. See if correlation of IgE to asthma links to milk or soybean allergy as well as to some inhalants and foods?
In addition, IBS and FD symptoms may also be related to abnormal intestinal bactera, caffeine, alcohol, low dietary fibre, overgrowth of intestinal yeasts and excessive dietary sugars.Dr. Bennett:
Rationale for testing patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Functional Dyspepsia (FD) for IgG food allergy
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