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JACI Highlights - February 2006
Roberts et al – Grass pollen immunotherapy as an effective therapy for childhood seasonal allergic asthma
There is considerable evidence for the efficacy and safety of specific immunotherapy (SIT) in children and adults with allergic rhinoconjunctivitis. Yet there has been a concern about the number of adverse effect seen when asthmatics are treated with SIT. In particular there is minimal pediatric data on the efficacy and safety of SIT in grass pollen induced asthma. In adults, SIT has been shown to reduce the need for corticosteroid therapy and to modify the natural history of allergic rhinitis. If these effects are also seen with childhood allergic asthma, SIT has the potential to have a major role in the management of this disease.
In the February 2006 issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Roberts et al studied the clinical efficacy and safety of SIT in children with seasonal allergic asthma. The efficacy of SIT was assessed in a group of asthmatic children and teenagers whose symptoms are primarily caused by grass pollen. The study demonstrates that SIT is an effective therapy for seasonal allergic asthma in this group. The absence of significant systemic reactions in this group of children with moderate asthma emphasizes the safety of this approach. Even once significant asthma is established in childhood, immunotherapy has an important therapeutic role.
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