In a study of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antibody in healthy carriers, oligoclonal immunoglobulin bands (OIB) were found, by electrophoresis and immunofixation of serum proteins in 2/3 of these subjects. The detection of uniform IgG bands represents a specific humoral immune response of the host in the course of persistent HIV-infection. Periodic testing is continuing to assess the usefulness of OIB as biochemical markers to follow the course of HIV-infection (1). Agarose gel electrophoresis and immunofixation of serum samples from hereditary angioedema revealed normal immunoglobulin patterns in hereditary angioedema (HAE) and mixed immunoglobulin bands in acquired angioedema (AAE) patients. These studies suggest that simple electrophoresis differentiates HAE from AAE and indicate to the clinician to consider AAE in atypical cases of angioedema (2).
