Abstract
In the course of a correlated series of laboratory and clinical investigations, which will later be reported upon in full detail, with carbohydrate obtained from ragweed pollen, certain results were obtained with the Prausnitz Küstner reaction (local passive transfer) which seem worth recording at this time.
In skin testing ragweed sensitive hay-fever patients to this carbohydrate material it was found that a percentage gave positive skin reactions to the carbohydrate about as large as was obtained with the whole pollen or any protein fraction thereof, and also that a percentage gave no reaction on skin tests to the carbohydrate.
Serum for the Prausnitz Küstner reaction was taken (A) from those who showed the most marked reaction (relative to the results obtained with the pollen or other protein fractions thereof), (B) from those who showed no reaction to the carbohydrate although the results with the other ragweed preparations might be equal or thereabouts to those obtained in Group A.
With the sera of Group A it was found that the sensitized areas in the recipient would give a local reaction to the carbohydrate solution whereas with the sera of Group B no reaction was obtained.
The possibility of some peculiarity or exceeding susceptibility of the recipient was ruled out by obtaining the contrast of serum from Group A on one arm of the recipient (which gave a positive Prausnitz Küstner to the carbohydrate) and the serum from Group B (which was negative) on the other arm. This at the same time that the reactions obtained with both sera to whole pollen solution would be equal.
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