No abstract

Selective IgE deficiency (IgED) is currently defined as a significant decrease in serum levels of IgE (<2 kIU/L) in a patient whose other immunoglobulin levels are normal. There are no published large-scale epidemiological studies regarding the prevalence of and clinical features of IgED. In the population-based case-control study, we investigated clinical and laboratory characteristics of patients with IgED. Case samples were drawn from all subjects (n = 18487), with serum total IgE measurement during 2012 at Leumit Health Care Services (Israel) and had serum total IgE of <2 kIU/L. The control group was randomly sampled from the remaining 18,261 subjects with a case-control ratio of four controls for each case (1:4). Comorbid diseases were identified by specific International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification diagnostic codes given by the corresponding board-certificated physicians. Two hundred twenty-six subjects showed serum total IgE levels of <2 kIU/L; 68 (30.9%) were between the ages of 4 and 12 years (children) and 250 (69.1%) were ≥12 years old (adults). Matched control groups were selected for each age group. The children group was characterized by higher prevalence of asthma and hyperreactive airways disease; and both children and adult groups had significantly higher prevalence of chronic sinusitis, otitis media, autoimmune, and oncological diseases than their respective controls. Undetectable serum total IgE may serve as a marker of immune dysregulation and autoimmunity.

No abstract

Chronic illness and chronic pain can have profound negative effects on relationship and sexual satisfaction, yet the influence of migraine on sexuality has not been previously evaluated. To assess sexual functions in subjects with migraine compared to those with no migraine. We evaluated female university students using the Israeli sexual behavior inventory (ISBI). Migraine was diagnosed according to self-reported symptoms according to the IHS criteria. Several dimensions of female sexuality—desire, orgasm, sexual avoidance, interpersonal sexual relationship, health influence, satisfaction and pain were evaluated using a structured questionnaire. Thirty-three (23.9%) of the participants met the IHS criteria for episodic migraine with and without aura. Sexual activity, desire, orgasm and satisfaction from sexual life did not differ significantly between migraine sufferers and non-sufferers. Migraine patients reported lower ISBI scores, higher health influence on sexual life, higher levels of sexual pain and lower sexual satisfaction. Migraine negatively affected the sexual life of sufferers. Sexual pain disorder is more common among migraine sufferers compared to non-migraineurs.