Background and objectives: It is well known that children with Down syndrome (DS) suffer from frequent infections. There is an association of certain IgG subclass abnormalities with the predisposition to recurrent infection of the respiratory tract. Therefore, the study was conducted to determine the immunoglobulin G1 and G2 (IgG1, IgG2) profile in children with DS.

Material and methods: Forty children between the ages of 6 months to 12 years with DS (47 XX/XY, +21) attending the Department of Immunology, BIRDEM were enrolled in the study. Age and sex matched 30 healthy normal children with 46 XX/XY were included as control. Enrolled DS and healthy children were divided into two age groups namely 6 months to 6 years and 7 years to 12 years. Serum IgG1 and IgG2 concentrations were determined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method.

Results: The mean serum IgG1 concentrations of children with DS in both age groups did not differ significantly from that of normal healthy children. But the IgG2 level was significantly less (p<0.003 and p<0.004) in both age groups of children with DS compared to that of control healthy children.

Conclusion: The study has demonstrated that the serum IgG2 level was significantly less in children with DS than that of matched normal healthy control children while there was no deficiency of IgG1.

IMC J Med Sci 2017; 11(1): 1-4. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3329/imcjms.v11i1.31930

Address for Correspondence: Dr. Supti Prava Saha, Lecturer, Department of Pharmacology, Ibrahim Medical College, 122 Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue, Shahbag, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh. Email: [email protected]