Antibodies to human serum albumin in familial dysautonomia.

Sera from familial dysautonomia patients are shown to contain high levels of antibodies to human serum albumin (HSA). The individual levels of anti-HSA antibodies correlate significantly with the levels of antibodies to bovine serum albumin and lactalbumin. These results and the findings that the anti-HSA level declines exponentially with age indicate that anti-HSA antibodies may be induced by aspiration of bovine milk antigens in infancy. The titer of the anti-HSA autoantibodies presently described (> 1:10,000) is much higher than those found in other diseases and may contribute to the pathological changes in familial dysautonomia.