Is intralymphatic immunotherapy ready for clinical use in patients with grass pollen allergy?

Allergen-specific subcutaneous immunotherapy confers significant clinical benefits in patients with grass pollen–induced allergic rhinoconjunctivitis. Nevertheless, treatment is costly; it lasts up to 5 years and can occasionally lead to systemic adverse reactions. Improving immunotherapy by means of direct administration of the allergen extract into a lymph node with 3 intralymphatic injections has been attempted in 3 previous studies. Two of the studies have shown efficacy in nasal provocations for grass pollen and cat dander. One small study combining patients with grass and birch pollen allergy has demonstrated an improved global evaluation of seasonal symptoms. However, no double-blind, placebo-controlled studies have yet been published looking at efficacy based on seasonal symptom and medication scores, as proposed by the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Medical Agency (EMA). To study the efficacy based on patients’ seasonal diaries, we performed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study testing 3 and 6 preseasonal injections of intralymphatic immunotherapy (ILIT) with alum-adsorbed Phleum pratense.
Source: Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology - Category: Allergy & Immunology Authors: Tags: Letters to the Editor Source Type: research