Hay fever vaccine tames allergy symptoms for 2 years: Knowledge Driven Revolution

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A six-week course of a new type of vaccine shots seems to offer long-term relief from hay fever more quickly than years of pollen injections, a pilot study suggests.

Peter Creticos of the Johns Hopkins Asthma and Allergy Center in Baltimore and his colleagues tested the experimental therapy, known as AIC, in 25 volunteers aged 23 to 60 with ragweed allergy.

The 14 people who received the six weekly injections of AIC showed fewer hay fever symptoms, and 60 per cent fewer days with severe allergies compared with 11 others who received placebo injections, the team reports in Thursday's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

The AIC vaccine uses pieces of DNA from bacteria that shut down the body's inflammatory response. By directly targeting immune cells instead of treating symptoms, researchers aim to reduce side-effects of traditional allergy medications, antihistamines and steroids.

"We're not just treating the symptoms, we're targeting the fundamental defects in the immune system that cause allergy," Creticos said.

By linking the DNA to the most troublesome part of the ragweed pollen protein, the vaccine aims to suppress acute reactions like sneezing and symptoms of chronic inflammation, such as itchy eyes and a runny nose.

Although people who received the vaccine used less allergy medication and reported a better quality of life than those in the placebo group, the main goal was not met: reducing the amount of fluid in the nose, based on levels of a protein in mucus that normally fall after traditional pollen allergy shots.

No serious side-effects

The decline in symptoms did carry over and strengthen for the peak of the next allergy season, the researchers found. Side-effects were generally mild, such as temporary redness around the injection site. No serious side-effects were seen in the short study.

A larger study is underway to assess the long-term risks of the therapy and to see how long the protective effects last.

Creticos said they hope to provide a long-term treatment for hay fever and other chronic inflammatory diseases.

Allergists not involved in the study said Creticos' approach has spin-off potential for other medical conditions, but by targeting only one part of the ragweed allergy, the therapy may not work in all allergy patients.

California-based company Dynavax Technologies is developing the AIC vaccine, which is years away from market. Four of the 11 authors of the study reported financial ties to Dynavax or a financial interest in the drug's development.

The research was sponsored by the U.S. National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

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Hay fever vaccine tames allergy symptoms for 2 years: study