Over the years, there have been a variety of systems via which physicians and researchers have attempted to cure patients of their inhalant allergies.
These include (click here for a description of each):
• Allergy shots
• Under the tongue allergy drops (SLIT)
• Intra-Lymphatic Injections (ILIT)
• Allergy Tablets
• Epicutaneous Immunotherapy (EPIT)
• Intra-Nasal Spray
• Bronchial Inhalers
Well... we can now add skin patches to the list.
European researchers conducted a placebo-controlled, double-blinded trial involving 132 patients with grass pollen allergies. The patients were randomly divided into one of four groups: placebo, low-dose, medium-dose or high-dose patches. Patients applied six weekly patches prepared with grass allergens prior to and during the 2008 grass season and ALL reported improvement in their symptoms (30% in 2008) though one year later, there was a dose-dependent improvement with essentially no improvement in low-dose and placebo groups.
Unfortunately, higher-dose patches had higher rates of adverse events including pruritus, erythema, wheal, or eczema leading to an overall drop-out rate of 8.3% from the study.
This all may sound good and promising, but two of the study's authors hold patents on patch-based immunotherapy which may lead to study bias.
My take? More study is needed...
Reference:
Epicutaneous allergen-specific immunotherapy ameliorates grass pollen–induced rhinoconjunctivitis: A double-blind, placebo-controlled dose escalation study. The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
Volume 129, Issue 1 , Pages 128-135, January 2012
Skin Patch Immunotherapy for Allergy Cure
- at 2/18/2012
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- By Fauquier ENT
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- 1 COMMENTS
Labels:
allergy ,
cure ,
drops ,
hayfever ,
RAST ,
SCIT ,
shots ,
skin patch ,
sublingual ,
treatment
Fauquier ENT
Dr. Christopher Chang is a private practice otolaryngology, head & neck surgeon specializing in the treatment of problems related to the ear, nose, and throat. Located in Warrenton, VA about 45 minutes west of Washington DC, he also provides inhalant allergy testing/treatment, hearing tests, and dispenses hearing aids.
1 comment:
Wash all of the clothes you were wearing when you came into contact with the poisonous plant. The oil can stick to clothing. If this oil touches your skin, you can get another rash.
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