The failures of specific immunotherapy
Look for the cause, do not treat the symptoms
Hay fever sufferers do not have an easy time. For several weeks each year they are plagued by pollen, with runny noses, itchy eyes and the risk of developing asthma.
Dr. Andreas Hellmann, CEO of the Federation of pulmonologists, writes in Deutschen Ärzteblatt (German medical publication) of a trend that has grown enormously in the last 20 years - "Up to two thirds of patients with hay fever are likely to develop chronic asthma".
The therapy is time consuming
Conventional medicine has only one answer for the treatment of pollen allergy sufferers. Using specific immunotherapy (SIT) the aim is to gradually accustom the body to an allergen. The frequency varies according to the medication used, but the patient visits the doctor at regular intervals to receive an injection of the specific allergen. It can be very time consuming as the treatment often takes several years. For grass pollen allergies there are also Sublingual Immunotherapies (SLIT) available. In this case the allergen is administered to the patient as a tablet or drops on a daily basis.
Our immune system has 3 lines of defence
If you suffer with an allergy, it is useful to understand our immune system. The immune system has three lines of defence, or barriers, to ward off enemies. The first barrier is our skin. A basic rule of medicine is that nothing can pass through a healthy skin (except for the hookworm). The second barrier is our non-specific immune system. T-cells (white blood cells) and macrophages (phagocytes) attack any foreign substances that have entered body. The third barrier is our specific immune system. For every enemy, there is a specific antibody. In the case of an allergies, IgE (immunoglobulin E) antibodies are released, there being a specific IgE for each type of pollen or allergen. It is the production of the IgE which results in the allergic symptoms.
The success rate
The classic desensitization program lasts at least 3 years. Not all patients respond to specific immunotherapy and, even if they do, are usually only free of symptoms for 2 years before the allergy reappears.
The reactions of the immune system
What is actually happening in the body? The characteristic response to an allergen is the formation of IgE antibodies, by the specific immune system, which react in a particular way to the invading allergen. However, specific immune therapy tries to persuade the immune system to attack the allergens using the second barrier, an unspecific immune response, using phagocytes (macrophages) and killer cells (T-cells, white blood cells). The theory is that the patient will get used to the enemy with increasing doses and will not have allergic symptoms as the third barrier is not being activated – and it works, but usually only for a certain length of time. The non-specific immune defence is forgetful because phagocytes and killer cells have to regenerate and do not pass on the information they have learned. The specific immune system, using IgE defence, kicks in again and the patient needs further immunotherapy, usually only 2 years after completing the first course of treatment.
The search for the causes
It does not make any sense to repeatedly treat an allergy sufferer merely to relieve his symptoms. It is much more useful to look for, and prevent, the cause - then there will be no allergy symptoms to treat. In brief, the allergy sufferer needs to discover how the allergens are passing through his skin and entering the body. There are rules for allergy sufferers to follow to help identify the specific causes for each individual. Without these rules, the causes cannot be found and the allergies will not be eliminated. The causes are now known and are available to us all in the book “Allergies – The Real Causes”.
It does not make any sense to permanently treat an allergic person for their symptoms, or to attempt to trigger the non-specific immune response of the second barrier instead of the specific response of the third barrier. It is much more useful to look for, and prevent, the causes. Our goal, at body-network.com, is to assist allergy sufferers in repairing the first barrier of the immune system (the skin, intestinal lining and respiratory mucous membranes) and thus protect the body. The allergic person needs to discover how the allergens are passing through his skin, understand the causes and follow the rules which will assist in finding the individual cause. For this reason, the book "Allergies - the true causes" was written and will help allergy sufferers become symptom free. Without any cause, there will be no symptoms and hence no need for any treatment.
