Sublingual allergen immunotherapy: Immunological mechanisms and prospects for refined vaccine preparations

Abstract

Allergic diseases constitute a major health issue worldwide. Mainstay treatment constitutes allergen avoidance and pharmacotherapy for symptom relief, but allergen immunotherapy offers advantages of specific treatment with long lasting efficacy, and being able to modify the course of the disease. Conventional immunotherapy involves the subcutaneous injection of gradually increasing amounts of allergen extract but the use of current whole allergen extracts is restricted by the risk of adverse - IgE-mediated events especially for potent allergens such as peanut and latex and for asthmatics. This has lead to interest in alternative routes of immunotherapy. Oral tolerance is a well-documented im..