Cow's Milk Allergy as a Cause of Infantile Colic: Immunofluorescent Studies on Jejunal Mucosa

Fourteen infants and children who had suffered from infantile “colic” and related symptoms were diagnosed as being allergic to cow's milk because of their response to cow's milk exclusion and then to repeated challenge with cow's milk. The parents of these children frequently were allergic themselves and very frequently refused to drink cow's milk. Small bowel biopsy specimens were taken on these children, but only seven had biopsies both while taking cow's milk and when on a milk free diet. The mucosae were all histologically normal with normal disaccharidase levels. However, on immunological study it has been shown that significantly higher numbers of IgE containing plasma cells were present in the mucosal specimens when these infant? were taking cow's milk, than when they were on a milk-free diet.