Levels of Interleukin 4 and Immunoglobulin E in Umbilical Cord Blood from Children Born to Allergic Mothers

Abstract

Methods: A descriptive, exploratory and non-experimental study was carried out considering all the children of allergic mothers. Five (5) ml of blood was drawn from the subject’s umbilical cord with a sterile injector; then three (3) ml of serum was collected by centrifugation. Three (3) ml of blood was also extracted from the mother to process the levels of Immunoglobulin E. Measurements of Interleukin 4 (Pg/ml) and Immunoglobulin E (IU) was performed by the Indirect Elisa Technique. To evaluate levels of Interleukin 4, detectable and non-detectable categories were used; the referential value was 0,2 Pg/ml. Values lower than 0,2 were considered no detectable and values higher than 0,2 Pg/ml were considered detectable. A 50-200 IU referential value was considered to evaluate Immunoglobulin E levels in mothers; as for the newborns values higher than 10 IU and lower than 10 UT were used as referential values for Immunoglobulin E. The patients were followed-up of in the first three months of postnatal life.