Allergic rhinitis omalizumab

MH, Townley RG. Mokhtarani M. Seyfert-Margohs V, Asare A. Bateman K. Deniz Y Omalizumab pretreatment decreases acute reactions after rush immunotherapy for ragweed-induced seasonal allergic rhinitis. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2006 117 134-140. 

Studies of omalizumab in asthmatic volunteers showed that its administration over 10 weeks lowered plasma IgE to undetectable levels and significantly reduced the magnitude of both the early and the late bronchospastic responses to antigen challenge. Clinical trials have shown repeated intravenous or subcutaneous injection of anti-IgE MAb to lessen asthma severity and reduce the corticosteroid requirement in patients with moderate to severe disease, especially those with a clear environmental antigen precipitating factor, and to improve nasal and conjunctival symptoms in patients with perennial or seasonal allergic rhinitis. 

In a placebo-controUed study of subcutaneous omalizumab (50,150, and 300 mg before the ragweed season and every 3 or 4 weeks during the pollen season) in 536 patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis, injection site reactions were mild and infrequent, there were no clinically significant alterations in laboratory values, and anti-idiotypic antibodies to omalizumab were not detected there was no evidence of immune complex-related adverse events (5-7). 

Casale TB, Condemi J, LaForce C, Nayak A, Rowe M, Watrous M, McAlary M, Fowler-Taylor A, Racine A, Gupta N, Fick R, Della Cioppa G Omalizumab Seasonal Allergic Rhinitis Trail Group. Effect of omalizumab on symptoms of seasonal allergic rhinitis a randomized controlled trial. JAMA 2001 286(23) 2956-67. 

Nayak A, Casale T, Miller SD, Condemi J, McAlary M, Fowler-Taylor A, Della Cioppa G, Gupta N. Tolerability of retreatment with omalizumab, a recombinant humanized monoclonal anti-IgE antibody, during a second ragweed pollen season in patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis. Allergy Asthma Proc 2003 24(5) 323-9. 

Omalizumab may offer significant long-term benefits to allergic rhinitis patients, but it may prove to be too expensive to gain widespread acceptance. 

Omalizumab Prevention ot allergic asthma and seasonal rhinitis... 

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