New research concludes that acupuncture “is a clinically useful and safe therapy for symptom management in patients with HIES.” HIES Syndrome is Hyper-IgE Syndrome, also known as Job’s Syndrome. The research was conducted at The Clinical Research Center of the National Institutes of Health.
Hyper-immunoglobulin E (IgE) syndrome, HIES, is a rare hereditary disease characterized by frequent staphylococcal infections, retained primary teeth, skin rashes, lung infections, and a high concentration of serum IgE. Early signs include permanent retention of primary teeth or a delay in the loss of primary teeth. Various presentations of eczematous dermatitis appear and pneumonias are common. Laboratory tests may be normal in infants. However, HIES patients develop IgE levels that are often greater than 10 times the norm. In addition, HIES patients have significantly raised eosinophil levels. Recurrent staphylococcal boils in HIES patients are often treated with antibiotics and infected abscesses may be deep and require incision and drainage. The oldest surviving HIES patient was documented at 60 years of age, however, infections frequently cause loss of life earlier.
Reference:
Adeline X.Y. Ge, Mary E. Ryan, Steven M. Holland, Alexandra F. Freeman, Victoria L. Anderson, Fei Wang, Jim W. Fleshman. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. January 2011, 17(1): 71-76. doi:10.1089/acm.2010.0264.
