Selective antibody deficiency with normal immunoglobulins

[Couch Potatoe]

Selective antibody deficiency with normal immunoglobulins is characterized by an inadequate response to certain types of antigens (foreign substances in the body) but not to others, even though people have normal or near normal levels of antibodies (immunoglobulins).

People with selective antibody deficiency with normal immunoglobulins have frequent sinus and lung infections.
Doctors diagnose the disorder by measuring immunoglobulin levels in the blood and by evaluating how well people respond to vaccines.
Treatment includes vaccination with the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, antibiotics to treat infection and to prevent infections from occurring, and sometimes immune globulin .

(See also Overview of Immunodeficiency Disorders.)
Selective antibody deficiency with normal immunoglobulins is a primary immunodeficiency disorder. It is one of the most common immunodeficiencies that causes frequent sinus and lung infections. People with this disorder have an inadequate immune response to certain vaccines (called polysaccharide vaccines), such as one form of the pneumococcal vaccine.
Vaccines contain antigens from the bacteria or viruses they are intended to protect against. Normally, the body’s immune system responds to a vaccine by producing substances (such as antibodies) and mobilizing white blood cells that recognize and/or attack the specific bacteria or virus represented in the vaccine. Then whenever people who have been vaccinated are exposed to the specific bacteria or virus, the immune system automatically produces these antibodies and takes other action to prevent or lessen illness. People with selective antibody deficiency do not produce antibodies in response to polysaccharide vaccines.
Affected people have many sinus and lung infections and sometimes symptoms of allergies, such as a chronic runny and stuffy nose (rhinitis), a rash, and asthma. The severity of the disorder varies.
Some children have a form of the disorder that resolves on its own over time.