title: Changes in biomarkers during a six-month oral immunotherapy intervention for cow's milk allergy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Oral immunotherapy (OIT) is a promising but still experimental method to treat children with cow's milk (CM) allergy (CMA). We evaluated changes in allergic, immunological and inflammatory parameters, which happened during the six-month OIT for CMA.
  
  
  METHODS
  We treated 28 school-aged children with CMA using OIT with a double-blind placebo-controlled design. After the controlled study finished, the placebo group was treated with the same but open-label OIT protocol. Sixteen immune variables were tested before and after the six-month OIT.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Before OIT, the median serum CM-specific immunoglobulin (Ig) E was 18.0kIU/L in the intervention group and 9.4kIU/L in the placebo group (p = 0.46). At six months, interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-10 were significantly higher in the intervention group. When the changes during the blinded and open OIT were analysed together for both groups, blood eosinophils and serum total IgE decreased and milk-specific IgG and IgG4, serum IL-4 and IL-6, and serum leptin and resistin increased significantly.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Preliminary evidence was found that markers of allergy such as blood eosinophils and serum IgE decreased and milk-specific IgG and IgG4 increased during OIT. Adipokines, leptin and resistin, which functionally are cytokines linked to Th1-type response, increased during OIT.
authors.affiliation: Allergy Center, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland. susanna.salmivesi@pshp.fi.
authors.forename: Susanna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Salmivesi
authors.affiliation: Allergy Center, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: Marita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Paassilta
authors.affiliation: School of Health Sciences, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: Heini
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Huhtala
authors.affiliation: The Immunopharmacology Research Group, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: Riina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nieminen
authors.affiliation: The Immunopharmacology Research Group, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: Eeva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Moilanen
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine and Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland.|Tampere Center for Child Health Research, Tampere University and University Hospital, Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: Matti
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Korppi
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000293:Adolescent; D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood*; D002417:Cattle; D002648:Child; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D003888:Desensitization, Immunologic / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D004804:Eosinophils / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D007167:Immunotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D008892:Milk / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000276:immunology; D016269:Milk Hypersensitivity / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*; D018417:Th1 Cells / Q000276:immunology; D018418:Th2 Cells / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D016207:Cytokines; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D015850:Interleukin-6; D016753:Interleukin-10; D007073:Immunoglobulin E
keywords: Adipokines; Cow's milk allergy; Cytokines; Eosinophils; Immunoglobulin E; Oral immunotherapy