Hyposensitization.

Abstract

Most extracts used in hyposensitization (immunotherapy) are complex and ill-defined mixtures of a large number of non-antigenic and antigenic components, only a few of the latter being of significance for allergy and allergen specific immunotherapy. A new purified and well-characterized allergen preparation from timothy pollen is now available, and it is superior to the corresponding crude aqueous extract in the diagnosis of Ig[immunoglobulin]E-mediated human allergy to timothy pollen. The results of hyposensitization for 2 yr with the purified preparation and the crude extract were compared. Changes in in vivo and in vitro tests following this treatment in 40 patients with allergic rhinitis due to grass pollen were reported. Both patients groups showed a significant decrease in clinical symptom scores when compared with a control group during the grass pollen season. For all groups the symptoms scores correlated well with atmospheric pollen counts. Nasal challenge tests showed a significant increase in nasal tolerance to timothy pollen after 2 yr of treatment, but nasal tolerance was unchanged in the control group. Nasal function as a criterion for evaluating the effect of specific hyposensitization was discussed. Serum concentrations of timothy pollen-specific IgE antibodies showed a significant decrease for the group treated with the purified preparation and a slighter and non-significant reduction for the other treated group. There was no significant change in total serum IgE levels. The purified preparation is apparently preferable to the crude aqueous extract in hyposensitization.