THE EVALUATION OF VARIOUS METHODS AND ANTIGENS FOR THE DETECTION OF ANTIBODIES AGAINST PITYROSPORUM-OVALE IN PATIENTS WITH SEBORRHEIC DERMATITIS

Sera from 10 patients with seborrhoeic dermatitis and from 10 age-matched healthy individuals were examined for IgG activity against Pityrosporum ovale. The IgG activity was analysed using the following techniques: an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) against whole P. ovale cells, purified cell-wall carbohydrate or protein extract, an indirect slide-immunofluorescence assay and fluorescence-activated flow cytometry using the whole organism as antigen. The ELISA method using the protein antigen was the only technique that showed a significant difference between patients and controls; a lower antibody response was found in the seborrhoeic dermatitis patients compared to healthy controls.