Asthma UK scientists have discovered why the protective effects of immunotherapy against grass pollen allergies persist long after treatment has stopped.
This information could help scientists monitor the effectiveness of immunotherapy in individual people and predict how long they should continue treatment in order to gain maximum protection.
In addition, the discovery could help scientists design and evaluate new immunotherapies that can protect against allergic reactions to a wide range of substances.
Immunotherapy involves exposing a person to very low levels of substances that set off their allergic reactions.
Up to a quarter of people in the UK suffer from hay fever caused by grass pollen and millions of people have allergies that severely impact on their quality of life.
At least half of people with asthma also have hay fever, and this can make their asthma symptoms much worse, putting them at risk of a life-threatening asthma attack.
In their Asthma UK-funded study, Professor Stephen Durham, Dr Louisa James and their colleagues in London and Manchester have discovered that IgG antibodies in the blood are responsible for the protection provided by immunotherapy.
Dr James said: ‘We found that although IgG levels in the blood slowly decrease after treatment ends, the anti-allergy effect remains even two years after treatment has finished.
‘Our belief is that although the overall level of IgG drops, the particular IgG molecules able to suppress hay fever symptoms are retained by the body for many years.’
Dr Elaine Vickers, Research Relations Manager at Asthma UK, commented: ‘This is an important discovery, as it could help doctors treat people to maximum effect, and it should help scientists design even more effective immunotherapy treatments.’
‘Immunotherapy is probably our best chance of protecting people with allergies from developing asthma at a later date, so advancements in our understanding of how it works are incredibly important.’
The research was funded by grants from Asthma UK, the Medical Research Council and the Immune Tolerance Network, National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases USA.
This information could help scientists monitor the effectiveness of immunotherapy in individual people and predict how long they should continue treatment in order to gain maximum protection.
In addition, the discovery could help scientists design and evaluate new immunotherapies that can protect against allergic reactions to a wide range of substances.
Immunotherapy involves exposing a person to very low levels of substances that set off their allergic reactions.
Up to a quarter of people in the UK suffer from hay fever caused by grass pollen and millions of people have allergies that severely impact on their quality of life.
At least half of people with asthma also have hay fever, and this can make their asthma symptoms much worse, putting them at risk of a life-threatening asthma attack.
In their Asthma UK-funded study, Professor Stephen Durham, Dr Louisa James and their colleagues in London and Manchester have discovered that IgG antibodies in the blood are responsible for the protection provided by immunotherapy.
Dr James said: ‘We found that although IgG levels in the blood slowly decrease after treatment ends, the anti-allergy effect remains even two years after treatment has finished.
‘Our belief is that although the overall level of IgG drops, the particular IgG molecules able to suppress hay fever symptoms are retained by the body for many years.’
Dr Elaine Vickers, Research Relations Manager at Asthma UK, commented: ‘This is an important discovery, as it could help doctors treat people to maximum effect, and it should help scientists design even more effective immunotherapy treatments.’
‘Immunotherapy is probably our best chance of protecting people with allergies from developing asthma at a later date, so advancements in our understanding of how it works are incredibly important.’
The research was funded by grants from Asthma UK, the Medical Research Council and the Immune Tolerance Network, National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases USA.
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