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  • Title: In vitro lymphocyte proliferation as compared to patch test using gold, palladium and nickel.
    Author: Cederbrant K, Hultman P, Marcusson JA, Tibbling L.
    Journal: Int Arch Allergy Immunol; 1997 Mar; 112(3):212-7. PubMed ID: 9066505.
    Abstract:
    BACKGROUND: A conventional lymphocyte transformation test (LTT) was compared to the commercially available MELISA (memory lymphocyte immunostimulation assay), a lymphoproliferative assay that has been suggested to be a valuable instrument for the diagnosis of metal allergy. Sensitivity and specificity of the two assays were calculated using a patch test as a reference method. METHODS: 34 patients were patch-tested for gold sodium thiosulfate, palladium chloride and nickel sulfate, and the lymphocyte proliferation to these metals was tested in vitro using mononuclear cells from peripheral blood. RESULTS: No significant differences regarding sensitivity and specificity were found between MELISA and conventional LTT. The sensitivity varied between 55 and 95% and the specificity between 17 and 79%. CONCLUSIONS: The low specificity of the two in vitro assays suggests that they are not useful for diagnosis of contact allergy to the metals gold, palladium and nickel, since a large number of false-positive results will be obtained.
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