New report shows the benefits of immunotherapy for asthma

14th April 2018

New report shows the benefits of immunotherapy for asthma

A report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), published in March, revealed the benefits of using immunotherapy for asthma, specifically allergic asthma. The report is based on research into the benefits of both subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) and sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT).

You can use immunotherapy to treat allergic asthma. Allergic asthma is a reaction caused by exposure to an allergen. Common allergens include pollen, house dust mites, and animals. Allergens trigger an asthma attack which causes symptoms including wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath, and tightness in the chest. It’s a health issue that’s becoming increasingly common. In Europe, three people die per day as a result of asthma. It can especially be an issue in the winter.

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy for asthma comes in the form of subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) or sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT). Both methods seek to reduce sensitivity to allergens that cause allergic asthma, therefore reducing the symptoms. To do so, the patient is repeatedly administered with one or multiple allergens to increase their tolerance to them. SCIT does this by injecting a solution containing the allergens under the skin. With SLIT, allergen exposure comes via an aqueous solution or tablet placed under the tongue.

The report states that SCIT and SLIT reduce the need for long-term control medication. Both treatments improve asthma-specific quality of life, decrease the use of quick-relief medications, decrease the use of systemic corticosteroids, and improve forced expiratory volume. SLIT showed further evidence of improving asthma symptoms in patients.

What does this mean?

These results are important for the health of people living with allergic asthma. Although many with asthma rely on long-term medications and corticosteroids, their use can have negative side effects. These may include coughs, voice changes, and oral thrush.

Some quick-relief medications used for allergic asthma can cause increased heart rates, headaches, high blood sugar, mood alterations, weight gain, and hypokalemia. By replacing these treatments with immunotherapy, the long and short-term health of people with allergic asthma could improve.

This may be why immunotherapy was also shown to improve people’s well-being. As well as experiencing reduced symptoms of allergic asthma, people were also less reliant on drugs to stay in control of their allergies. This means less time spent worrying about if you have enough medication, if your child has taken theirs to school, if teachers know how to use it, or remembering to take it. This makes for a more relaxed management of allergic asthma. This improves mood and reduces stress and anxiety which comes as a result of the condition.

The report did show a need for further research into the effectiveness of immunotherapy for the treatment of allergic asthma. There is little evidence to provide any comparative understanding of how effective immunotherapy is among different age groups, for different allergens, and in different settings. But with medical advancements in allergy treatments every day, the prognosis is looking good.

5.4 million people in the UK are currently undergoing treatment for asthma. If you think you should be one of them and would like to understand your symptoms further, book an appointment with one of our consultants. We use simple tests to determine what allergens may be causing your symptoms and provide the best ways to deal with them. Book an appointment today.

EXPOSED: Minimise your allergy symptoms with the help of SLIT

8th January 2018

EXPOSED: Minimise your allergy symptoms with the help of SLIT

There are no two ways about it: allergies are not fun. Between a constant runny nose and crippling sneezing fits, with the addition of blotchy and itchy skin, these pesky reactions can be a nuisance. Fear not! There are a variety of solutions available to help you. Sublingual immunotherapy is a popular non-invasive solution.

Sublingual immunotherapy or desensitisation – otherwise known as SLIT – is a treatment that teaches the body not to react to allergens, allergic rhinitis (hay fever), or allergic asthma.

SLIT is a process that works by administration of the allergen under the tongue over a period of time. Doing so allows your immune system to change and “reconsider” the way it reacts to the allergen. Over time, when exposed to the same allergens, you experience reduced symptoms (if any at all).

An allergy consultant will make the initial diagnosis. This is usually done with an IgE test (blood test) or skin prick allergy test. This can ultimately determine what the patient is allergic to. Once established, sublingual immunotherapy can be considered if there are no contraindications. The process requires holding either a drop underneath your tongue that can be spat out. Alternatively, it can come in the form of a spray. Either form is a small extract of the allergen in question.

Further information

Studies suggest that the time it takes to be effective can depend entirely on the type of allergy. Saying that, it typically ranges between four and six months. The effect of treatment will last for more than five years if three years of treatment are completed. One trial’s results showed that if the treatment is stopped after only two years the effect varnishes the following year.

For perennial allergens (pet or dust mite allergy) the treatment needs to be continued for three years. While for hayfever desensitisation, it can either be non-stop or for 6 months per year. The latter is cheaper and starts four months before the pollen season.

Clinical trials show that SLIT is a safe solution and extremely effective for treating allergic rhinitis and allergic asthma. However, very infrequently it causes local side effects that almost always completely stop when the treatment starts to work (about two weeks), in the form tingling or slight swelling under the tongue that usually goes away. There were only a few cases in the world of severe allergic reactions (anaphylaxis) that mostly occurred when contraindications criteria were not met. While this is known to be extremely rare, it’s crucial the first dose of treatment is administered by the doctor in the centre before it can be administered by yourself.

Our consultants will be more than happy to discuss the treatment options available to help you improve the quality of life. Click here to book an appointment today to see if sublingual immunotherapy will benefit you.