High dose D. farinae SLIT improves bronchial responsiveness to specific allergen challenge
Sublingual immunotherapy has gained attention in the past few years, largely based on studies from Europe. To date, only a few clinical trails have been reported from the United States.
In this double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, published in the February 2011 issue of The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (JACI), we compared the safety and physiologic effects of a high dose (4200 AU/day) and low dose (60 AU day) of a D. farinae vaccine to placebo administered sublingually to 31 adults with allergic rhinitis sensitized to D. farinae +/- mild intermittent asthma (high dose, N=10; low dose, N=10; placebo N=11) for 12-18 months. No severe systemic reactions were noted. Eleven subjects (high dose N=5; low dose, N=4; placebo, N=2) experienced mild-moderate side effects (GI symptoms; oral irritation).
Although we found no differences in symptom-medication scores; those treated with the high dose D. farinae SLIT vaccine showed a significant improvement in their bronchial threshold to allergen challenge accompanied by a significant increase in serum IgG4 antibodies to D. farinae. Neither low dose SLIT nor placebo had a significant effect on these parameters. Our results suggest that further large-scale trials of SLIT in the U.S. are warranted.
10-0552, House dust mite sublingual immunotherapy: Results of a US trial
Robert K. Bush et al.
The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (JACI) is the official scientific journal of the AAAAI, and is the most-cited journal in the field of allergy and clinical immunology.