title: Allergen-specific immunotherapy in patients 55 years and older: results and review of literature.
abstract: Introduction Over the years the immune system suffers many morphologic and functional alterations, which result in a peak of function in puberty and a gradual decrease in the elderly. Aim Treat patients 55 years or older with allergic rhinitis with immunotherapy and then analyze the response to allergens. Materials and Methods From June 2009 to July 2010, 104 charts of patients 55 years or older with allergic complaints were evaluated. The patients were selected by anamnesis, physical examination, and otorhinolaryngologic exam. The patients had cutaneous test for mites before and after 1 year of sublingual specific immunotherapy. The cutaneous response was classified as negative (absent), light, moderate, or severe. Results Before vaccination, 42 (40.4%) patients were classified as having a severe form of allergy and 62 (59.6%) as having a moderate allergy. After the specific therapy, 40 (38.4%) patients were classified as negative (absent), 37 (35.6%) as light, 19 (18.3%) as moderate, and 8 (7.7%) as severe responses. Conclusion Immunotherapy, a desensitization technique, is indicated in cases which patients cannot avoid the exposure to allergens and in situations where pharmacologic therapy is not ideal. Specific immunotherapy to treat the allergic rhinitis in elderly patients was efficient and had no collateral effects, and in addition to the clinical benefit, improvement in the cutaneous test could also be observed.
authors.affiliation: Centro Médico Especializado Baptistella (CMEB), Curitiba/PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Baptistella
authors.affiliation: Centro Médico Especializado Baptistella (CMEB), Curitiba/PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Maniglia
authors.affiliation: Centro Médico Especializado Baptistella (CMEB), Curitiba/PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: Diego Augusto
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Malucelli
authors.affiliation: Centro Médico Especializado Baptistella (CMEB), Curitiba/PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rispoli
authors.affiliation: Centro Médico Especializado Baptistella (CMEB), Curitiba/PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: Thanara
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pruner de Silva
authors.affiliation: Centro Médico Especializado Baptistella (CMEB), Curitiba/PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fernanda Miyoko
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Tsuru
authors.affiliation: Centro Médico Especializado Baptistella (CMEB), Curitiba/PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: Renata Vecentin
authors.initials: RV
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.affiliation: Centro Médico Especializado Baptistella (CMEB), Curitiba/PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: Gustavo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bernardi
authors.affiliation: Centro Médico Especializado Baptistella (CMEB), Curitiba/PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dranka
authors.affiliation: Centro Médico Especializado Baptistella (CMEB), Curitiba/PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ferraz
keywords: aged; immunotherapy; rhinitis