Is immunotherapy effective in allergic disease?
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this review is to summarize the basic principles of effective immunotherapy, and to highlight some of the advances that have been published in the past year.


RESULTS
Recent findings show that immunotherapy, when performed appropriately and properly, not only causes a decrease in symptoms, use of medication and an improved quality of life, but also that the shift from allergic rhinitis to asthma is substantially decreased and the development of new allergies is diminished. In addition, laboratory studies continue to demonstrate significant changes in the immune system moving the patient towards a non-allergic immune function T helper type 2 cell to T helper type 1 cell shift.


CONCLUSIONS
In summary, recent research clearly continues to demonstrate the efficacy of immunotherapy not only as a therapeutic agent but as a preventive one as well.
Finegold
Ira
I
St Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, New York, NY 10022, USA. lfinegold@aol.com
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001249:Asthma / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D007167:Immunotherapy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome