Asthma specific immunotherapy

Bousquet J, Hejjaoui A, Michel EB. Specific immunotherapy in asthma. J Allergy Clin Immunol 1990 86 292-305. 

Specific immunotherapy using subcutaneous injections (SCIT) has been used for almost 100 years. It is clearly helpful for allergic rhinitis from pollens. Treatment of asthma, especially from molds, is not as clearly successful. Factors such as the inconvenience and expense of traveling for allergy shots contribute to a dropout rate greater than 50% over a multiyear course of... 

Ross RN, Nelson HS, Finegold I Effectiveness of specific immunotherapy in the treatment of asthma A meta-analysis of prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies. Clin Ther 2000 22 329-341. 

Pichler CE, Helbling A, Pichler WJ Three years of specific immunotherapy with house-dust-mite extracts in patients with rhinitis and asthma Significant improvement of allergen-specific parameters and of nonspecific bronchial hyperreactivity. Allergy 2001 56 301-306. 

Bousquet J, Demoly P, Michel FB Specific immunotherapy in rhinitis and asthma. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2001 87(suppl 1) 38—42. 

Gniber W, Eber E, Mileder P, et al Effect of specific immunotherapy with house dust mite extract on the bronchial responsiveness of paediatric asthma patients. Clin Exp Allergy 1999 29 176-781. (lb)... 

The World Health Organization position paper [31] published in 1998 found that properly conducted double-blind, placebo-controlled trials have shown the effectiveness of sublingual-swallow immunotherapy with grass, Parietaria and mite vaccines. The ARIA (Allergic Rhinitis and Impact on Asthma) [32] guidelines published in 2001 gave specific indications for usage. 

Leng X, Fu YX, Ye ST, Duan SQ A double blind trial of oral immunotherapy for Artemisia pollen asthma with evaluation of bronchial response to pollen allergen and serum specific IgE antibodies. Ann Allergy 1990 64 27-31. 

Ohashi Y, Nakai Y, Sakamoto H, Ohno Y, Sugiura Y, Okamoto H, Tanaka A, Kakinoki Y, Kishimoto K, Hayashi M Serum levels of soluble interleukin-2 receptor in patients with perennial allergic rhinitis before and after immunotherapy. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 1996 77 203-208. Ohashi Y, Nakai Y, Tanaka A, Kakinoki Y, Washio Y, Kato A, Masamoto T, Sakamoto H, Yamada K Ten-year follow-up study of allergen-specific immunoglobulin E and immunoglobulin G4, soluble interleukin-2 receptor, interleukin-4, soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 in serum of patients on immunotherapy for perennial allergic rhinitis. Scand J Immunol 1998 47 167-178. 

The Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand and the Australasian Society of Immunology and Allergy have published guidelines for the use of specific allergen immunotherapy in the treatment of asthma patients (2). These should be read by practitioners who are considering immunotherapy for patients, especially those with asthma, who have a higher risk of a serious systemic reaction. 

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