Application of allergen-specific immunotherapy in atopic dermatitis

Abstract

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a kind of allergic skin diseases, and allergens play important roles in the pathogenesis of AD. Allergen-specific immunotherapy (ASIT) can induce immune tolerance through repeated contact with low-dose allergens, and is considered to be the only effective way to change the course of allergic diseases. At present, ASIT has been widely applied to the treatment of allergic diseases, but its application is still controversial in AD due to insufficient understanding on this therapy and lack of evidences from large sample-sized clinical trials. Currently, subcutaneous injection immunotherapy (SCIT) and sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) have been accepted. Recent studies have found that the combination with monoclonal antibody-based treatment can improve the safety of desensitization treatment. New therapeutic methods such as intralymphatic immunotherapy, transcutaneous immunotherapy, rush ASIT and cluster ASIT, have been developed and proved to be effective for the treatment of AD with no increase in the incidence of adverse reactions. However, ASIT based on food allergy is still controversial. Key words: Dermatitis, atopic; Allergens; Immunity; Therapeutic uses; Desensitization, immunologic