Abstract
Allergen immunotherapy may modify the natural course of allergic diseases and induce remission. It includes subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) and sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT). For asthma, allergen immunotherapy using house dust mite (HDM) improves clinical symptoms and airway hyperresponsiveness and decreases drug requirements. Furthermore, it has been suggested that allergen immunotherapy also has the following effects: (1) the effect can be maintained for more than a year even if the treatment is terminated, (2) the remission rate of childhood asthma can be increased, (3) new allergen sensitization can be suppressed, and (4) asthma development can be prevented if allergen immunotherapy was performed in the case of pollinosis. Allergen immunotherapy differs from conventional drug therapy, in particular the effect of modifying the natural course of allergic diseases and the effect of controlling complicated allergic diseases such as rhinoconjunctivitis. The general indication for HDM-SCIT in asthma is HDM-sensitized atopic asthma with mild-to-moderate disease and normal respiratory function. HDM allergens should be involved in the pathogenesis of asthma, and a duration of illness of less than 10 years is desirable. HDM-SLIT is available for allergic rhinitis but not for asthma in Japan. However, as the efficacy of SLIT for asthma has been fully proven internationally, SLIT is also applied in asthmatics with complicated allergic rhinitis in Japan.
Highlights
Bronchial asthma has become a well-controlled disease in general because of advances in drug therapy centered on inhaled corticosteroid (ICS)
Immunotherapy differs from drug therapy in that it may modify the natural course of allergic diseases by targeting allergen-specific Th2-type immune responses
Allergen immunotherapy in pediatric patients with allergic rhinitis/asthma increases the rate of asthma remission after 5 years of treatment, and the remission can be maintained for 5 years after discontinuation [13]
Summary
Bronchial asthma has become a well-controlled disease in general because of advances in drug therapy centered on inhaled corticosteroid (ICS). ICS does not modify the natural course of asthma and is being positioned as a so-called symptomatic treatment [1,2]. Allergen immunotherapy is the only existing treatment that can be expected to induce immunological remission, that is, a possible cure of allergic diseases [3]. Allergen immunotherapy has therapeutic potency for a variety of allergic diseases simultaneously observed in an allergic individual. This treatment includes subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) and sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT). Immunotherapy differs from drug therapy in that it may modify the natural course of allergic diseases by targeting allergen-specific Th2-type immune responses.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
