Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Clinical Trial
. 2003 Feb;17(3):459-65.
doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2036.2003.01468.x.

Oral desensitizing treatment in food allergy: clinical and immunological results

G Patriarca  1 , E Nucera, C Roncallo, E Pollastrini, F Bartolozzi, T De Pasquale, A Buonomo, G Gasbarrini, C Di Campli, D Schiavino
Affiliations
Clinical Trial

Oral desensitizing treatment in food allergy: clinical and immunological results

G Patriarca et al. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2003 Feb.

Erratum in

  • Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2003 May 1;17(9):1205

Abstract

Background: The possibility of inducing oral desensitization in patients with food allergy is still controversial and no standardized programmes are yet available.

Aim: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of oral desensitization in patients with allergy induced by the most common food allergens.

Methods: Fifty-nine patients with food allergy underwent an oral desensitizing treatment according to standardized protocols. The control group consisted of age- and sex-matched subjects, who followed a strict elimination diet. Specific immunoglobulin E and immunoglobulin G4 were assessed at baseline and after 6, 12 and 18 months.

Results: The majority of patients (83.3%) successfully completed the treatment. During treatment, 51.1% of subjects experienced some mild side-effects, easily controlled by the oral administration of antihistamines or sodium cromolyn. Specific immunoglobulin E showed a significant decrease, whilst specific immunoglobulin G4 showed a significant increase in all patients.

Conclusions: The immunological findings induced by oral desensitization in food allergy allow us to hypothesize that oral tolerance may be mediated by the same mechanisms as those involved in traditional desensitizing treatments for respiratory allergies. Moreover, the proposed standardized oral desensitization protocols may represent an effective alternative approach in the management of food-allergic patients.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types