Introduction: Allergen immunotherapy is an effective treatment for allergic rhinitis. Conventional immunotherapy takesat least 5 to 6 months to reach the maintenance dosage; nonetheless, rush immunotherapy accelerates to reach the maintenance dose several months earlier. However, the safety and efficacy of this treatment has not been widely investigated. The objective of the present study...

The safety of accelerated schedules of allergen immunotherapy (ASAI) in patients with bronchial asthma (BA) has been reported but there are little data on the safety of ASAI for patients with atopic dermatitis (AD). In this study, we investigated the safety of ASAI in patients with AD. Sixty patients with AD and 18 patients with BA sensitized to house dust mites (HDM) were studied. A maximum ma...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the safety of an abbreviated course of injections of allergen extracts (rush immunotherapy) for the treatment of dogs with atopic dermatitis. ANIMALS 30 dogs with atopic dermatitis examined at a veterinary dermatology referral practice for treatment with allergen-specific immunotherapy. PROCEDURE A catheter was placed in a vein in each dog. Dogs were constantly observe...

Background When the specific immunotherapy with house dust mite was done in patients who had allergic diseases, change of specific immunoglobulin(Ig)E and IgG4 is well known. But, it is not known whether there is change for specific IgE and IgG4 during initial build-up phase and there is difference for antibody between rush immunotherapy group and conventional immunotherapy group during mainten...

Background: Rush immunotherapy (RIT) presents an attractive alternative to standard immunotherapy. However, RIT carries a much greater risk of acute allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis. Objectives: We hypothesized that omalizumab, a humanized monoclonal anti-IgE antibody, would be effective in enhancing both safety and efficacy of RIT. Methods: Adult patients with ragweed allergic rhiniti...

BACKGROUND Cytotoxic T lymphocyte associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4) is involved in the activation pathways of T lymphocytes. It has been shown that the circulating form of CTLA-4 is elevated in patients with hymenoptera allergy and can be down regulated by immunotherapy. OBJECTIVE to assess the effects on CTLA-4 of venom immunotherapy, given with different induction protocols: conventional (6 wee...

BACKGROUND Allergen-specific immunotherapy is a proven, highly effective treatment for IgE-mediated diseases. However, ultra-rush immunotherapy is prescribed infrequently because of the perception that accelerated immunotherapy buildup leads to a higher rate of systemic reactions. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the frequency of adverse reactions in patients with IgE-mediated diseases receiving house d...

BACKGROUND Ultra-rush induction of immunotherapy with Hymenoptera venom is a reliable and efficacious alternative to the rush induction protocol, though not widely used in European countries yet. Its safety, however, has been intensively discussed over the last few years. The aim of this retrospective case study was to examine the rate of allergic side-effects during our four-hour ultra-rush hy...