HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by SATOH, M. Articles by SATO, Y. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by SATOH, M. Articles by SATO, Y. Related Collections Strongyloidiasis Helminth Immunology

ASSOCIATION OF A SEX-RELATED DIFFERENCE OF STRONGYLOIDES STERCORALIS–SPECIFIC IgG4 ANTIBODY TITER WITH THE EFFICACY OF TREATMENT OF STRONGYLOIDIASIS

It is difficult to completely eradicate strongyloidiasis, a human intestinal nematode infection with Strongyloides stercoralis with drugs, especially in males. To find host factors involved in the response to treatment, patients infected with S. stercoralis were examined for S. stercoralis-specific antibody titers and the effect of treatment with albendazole on these titers were determined. The cure rate was slightly but not significantly lower in males than in females (P = 0.108). However, a significantly higher titer of S. stercoralis-specific IgG4 antibody was observed in males than in females (P = 0.0097), and the S. stercoralis-specific IgG4 antibody titer was significantly higher in the male non-cured group than in the cured group (P = 0.035). These results suggest that elevation of the S. stercoralis-specific IgG4 antibody titer is associated with resistance to treatment of S. stercoralis infection, especially in males.

Received November 14, 2003. Accepted for publication March 10, 2004.

Acknowledgments: We thank all patients for participating in the study and all of our colleagues of the Department of Parasitology, School of Medicine, University of the Ryukyus and Izumizaki Hospital for their cooperation.

Authors’ addresses: Masao Satoh, Department of Medical Zoology, Saitama Medical School, Morohongo, Moroyama, Irumagun, Saitama 350-0495, Japan, Telephone: 81-492-76-1173, Fax: 81-492-94-2274, E-mail: satoma{at}saitama-med.ac.jp. Hiromu Toma and Yoshiya Sato, Department of Parasitology, School of Medicine, University of the Ryukyus, Uehara, Nishihara, Okinawa 903-0125, Japan. Susumu Kiyuna and Yoshiyuki Shiroma, Izumizaki Hospital, Izumizaki, Naha, Okinawa 900-0021, Japan. Akatsuki Kokaze, Department of Public Health, Kyorin University School of Medicine, Shinkawa, Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				R. C. S. Seet, L. G. Lau, and P. A. Tambyah Strongyloides Hyperinfection and Hypogammaglobulinemia Clin. Vaccine Immunol., May 1, 2005; 12(5): 680 - 682. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]