Immunotherapy in spring-time hay XXXX . A clinical and immunological study comparing two different treatment extract compositions.

@entity1 @entity16206 @entity4859 @entity566 @entity112 @entity221
In a study of the efficacy of two different treatment schedules for perennial immunotherapy, 47 adult @entity1 with spring-time hay @entity221 due to @entity566 against birch and other deciduous trees were randomly assigned to three treatment groups: one group received birch, alder and hazel allergen in Allpyral, another group received the same Allpyral mixture and in addition all relevant tree pollens in aqueous extract and a control group received no injections. For determination of antibody titres the radioallergosorbent test (RAST) and the @entity4859 precipitation (ASP) technique were used. Cellular responsiveness was studied by measuring birch pollen (BP) induced leucocyte @entity112 release in peripheral blood. The clinical and immunological response was similar in the two treated groups. Treated @entity1 had less symptoms and a lower consumption of @entity16206 tablets during the pollen season than the control group. Non-IgE BP antibodies and IgE antibodies recorded with the ASP technique increased after immunotherapy while RAST values did not change significantly. A decrease of RAST values from postseasonal values during the first year to preseasonal values in the following year was seen in all @entity1 groups but was less pronounced in treated than in untreated @entity1 . The decrease was more pronounced in @entity1 with high RAST values of postseasonal sera than in @entity1 with low RAST values. Cellular reactivity increased slightly during the first phase of therapy but returned to the pre-treatment level later. Clinical improvement was positively correlated to the percentage increase of non-IgE antibody titre and to the pre-treatment non-IgE/IgE antibody ratio. @entity1 with high preseasonal RAST titres or high cellular sensitivity tended to have more severe symptoms during the pollen season. It is concluded that a mixture of birch, alder and hazel is sufficient for immunotherapy in spring-term hay @entity221 . It is obvious that changes of a single immunological variable do not account for the therapeutic results in immunotherapy.
