Italian version

Today low dosage vaccines represent one of the latest scientific innovations in recent years. Thanks to these vaccines, we can induce tolerance whether it be for IgE mediated allergies, non-IgE mediated allergies, delayed food allergies or delayed respiratory allergies.

Compared to the traditional high dosage vaccinations that were used for years as anti-allergic vaccines, the low dosage vaccine seeks to restore tolerance at  much lower dosages than those used for the classic vaccination and is therefore an entirely different concept.

For many years we have known that the two ways of inducing the immune system to develop tolerance for an allergic substance were treatments with high dosages of the allergen ( that create a sort of "drowning" or "paralysis" of the system), or with low doses that created a different regulation of the cells responsible for launching the reaction. In clinical practice, allergology has always favored the induction of tolerance with high dosage vaccines, giving scarce attention to low dosage tolerance.

However, several in-depth studies have demonstrated that this type of vaccination can represent a powerful ally for the regulation of the immune system. Without delving into tedious technical details, it was noted that while high dosage vaccinations only inhibit the cells that produce antibodies for that specific antigen, low dosage vaccines not only act upon the cells, but also reduce reactivity of the immune system as a whole.

In this way, low dosage therapy represents an instrument that cannot provoke a generalized reaction and for this reason there aren't any risks involved and it's often possible to treat various allergies with a single vaccine.  This means that by way of a single low dosage "vaccine" for gramineae, we can also obtain an inhibitory action on the immune reactions to salicaceae and mites within the same person. This course of action may be chosen by people who have multiple allergies or intolerances (with or without IgE)

What's more, the low dosage vaccination (whose exact concentration must be individually studied by way of a DRIA test) can easily be performed at home by simply placing the contents of a capsule in the mouth or on the tongue, on a daily basis.

It's interesting to know that the low dosage vaccination takes effect within a few hours or days and therefore it doesn't require a long preparation as in the case of the classic vaccination. Even in the event of an unexpected early blossoming, which could catch an allergic subject off guard, the proper vaccine dosage can be prepared and therapy may be started immediately. In this way the advantages that the treatment can offer can be achieved within a few days

Since this technique has only recently been introduced in the clinical sphere, the duration of the therapeutic effect is unknown. Some patients who suspended the treatment after a year continued to feel its benefits for 5-6 years, while others needed to resume the treatment the following spring. This vaccine is used in a way that is different from classic vaccines: it's to be started exactly in the pollen season, and not months in advance. Recent scientific studies confirm that the use of the low dosage vaccine , whether identified and designed for the individual  with the DRIA or taken on the basis of statistics, brought about significant improvements (documented by works that were presented at the European Congress on Allergology in Birmingham in 1998, and at the Berlin conference of 2001) even in clinical situations such as dermatitis caused by contact with nickel sulphate (which often afflicts hairdressers), or typical of people who have reactions to costume jewelry earrings).

It is therefore a versatile and risk-free instrument (that can also be used during pregnancy) that should and must be part of an allergist's store of knowledge in order to respond to the present need to widen and diversify the forms of allergy therapy available today.

In any case, anti-allergic treatment is based on the following premises

• The consumption of small quantities of raw fruit and vegetables before every meal
• The use of appropriate minerals (Zinc, Copper, Manganese) and other supplements
• The regulation of food intolerances
• The use of low dosage hypo-sensitizing vaccines
• The gradual reduction of drugs that might already be in use
• The use of classic drugs to accompany recovery in emergency situations

Doctor Attilio Speciani
Clinical Allergist and Immunologist

Italian version