Helping Hay Fever

BACKGROUND: Hay fever is a very common ailment affecting many people. Fortunately, it is usually only problematic during the spring and summer months. Hay fever is caused when the body's defenses overreact to pollen released into the air by plants. The pollen causes release of a substance called histamine from cells in the skin. Because the pollen allergens are airborne, the nose and eyes are affected most, giving hay fever sufferers the classic symptoms of runny nose, congestion, sneezing and itchy, watery eyes. People with extreme allergies often rely on daily medication or even weekly injections to keep their condition under control. Current therapies for these allergies typically require a six-month build-up phase of shots, with subsequent maintenance injection therapy over three to five more years.

JUST SIX WEEKS! Now, researchers from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine may offer hay fever sufferers a better treatment option that requires only six weeks of treatment. Peter Creticos, M.D., and colleagues, are studying a DNA vaccine that is showing success in clinical trials. They recently announced the results of their two-year follow up on study participants who received the six-week treatment. Study participants had been treated with the six weekly injections prior to the 2001 ragweed allergy season. They were followed through the 2001 and 2002 ragweed allergy seasons. At this year's meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, Dr. Creticos announced that patients given the vaccine had improved hay fever symptoms, quality of life measurements, and less need for relief medications during the second ragweed season and these changes were similar to those observed during the initial ragweed season. He says allergies were relieved for up to 80 percent of study participants. This compares to about 35 percent or 40 percent improvement in people treated with conventional allergy medications. When compared to the placebo, this treatment was about four-fold more effective in controlling symptoms.

Dr. Creticos says, "We were able to also show improvement in the classic daily symptom diary scores that patients monitored in quality of life, and we also showed patients used several-fold less rescue medicine, such as antihistamines and decongestants for relief of breakthrough symptoms."

HOW IT WORKS: The new treatment is an allergy vaccine created by attaching immune-system- boosting molecules, or oligonucleotides, to Amb 1 a, the major ragweed protein responsible for allergic reactions. Researchers plan to continue following study participants and say, in the future, it may be that people will need only a booster shot to maintain the effects of the treatment. The drug was well-tolerated and no patients reported any serious allergic reactions.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Asthma and Allergy Center
Johns Hopkins University
5501 Hopkins Bayview Circle
Room 2B45
Baltimore, MD 21224
(410) 550-2122
On the Web: www.hopkins-allergy.org/