Immunological parameters in the sera of patients with atopic dermatitis and airborne allergy treated with allergy vaccines

Patients with atopic disorders present an increased production of IgE, which is usually limited to specific antibodies against various environmental allergens. It has also been suggested that the production of these antibodies may be influenced by effective specific immunotherapy (SIT). Of course, a decline of serum antigen specific IgE in the course of such a treatment cannot explain the clinical efficacy of SIT and is probably not a key mechanism. However, SIT may at least participate in the final clinical result. In this study, 37 patients with atopic dermatitis were treated with allergy vaccines (Novo-Helisen Depot) for a time period of 48 months. The control group consisted of 29 patients with atopic dermatitis who were treated with classical methods. The clinical score (W-AZS), total IgE and antigen specific IgE (asIgE) in the sera of patients were assessed before treatment and after 24 and 48 months of therapy (FEIA CAP System, Pharmacia). There was a significant difference between the two investigated groups from both the clinical and immunological standpoints after 2 and 4 years of observation. There was a significant decrease of serum total IgE and asIgE (directed against airborne allergens) in the course of specific immunotherapy. In the control group, the total IgE level tended to increase, and this tendency was also recorded in case of asIgE measurements. We also evaluated the influence of specific immunotherapy on the serum level of IFN-G, sIL-2R, IL-4, IL-5 and IL-10 before treatment and after 4 years of therapy with the quantitative 2-step colorimetric sandwich ELISA method (R and D Systems). In the group of patients treated with allergy vaccines, a significant decrease of the serum sIL-2R level was observed after 48 months of therapy (p<0.01). In the control group, a significant increase of serum IL-4 (p<0.01) as well as IL-5 (p<0.05) was registered at the end of the observation period. There was no significant correlation between the clinical score and serum level of any of the investigated cytokines in either group of patients before the treatment or after 48 months of therapy.