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The hyposensitizing ("anti-allergic") "vaccination" is one of the instruments through which we can induce tolerance by acting upon the immune system from the outside. The low dosage vaccination that we use to treat delayed food allergies and many respiratory allergies is one of the most interesting and innovative therapy techniques of recent years.
In practical terms, once we establish the appropriate concentration of the food or respiratory substance (which is strictly individual), or establish how to progress from the lowest concentration to the highest one (according to some of the most recent techniques), we begin the daily treatment with the remedy to recover tolerance (see video).
By modifying the quantity of the allergen and the way in which it comes into contact with the immune system, we can obtain different effects. If high dosages of allergen create a sort of "drowning and paralysis" within the system, thereby blocking the reaction of that allergen alone without acting upon its causes, low dosages create a different regulation of the cells that command the launching of the reaction.
This means that they are able to effectively prevent acute allergic reactions and aid in re-educating the body to tolerate the surrounding environment and the allergens that are jointly responsible for the allergic symptoms.
Based on the results of various studies, it seems clear that a total or partial elimination of exposure to the allergen worsens the pathology instead of improving it (see Re-educating the body to normality ).
In clinical practice, allergology has always strived for the induction of tolerance at high dosages (high dose tolerance), giving little consideration to tolerance at low dosage (low dose tolerance). However, recent studies have shown that this type of treatment, especially if associated with a diet aimed at fortifying the immune system can be a strong ally for treating the regulation of the immune system.
Low dose tolerance for the treatment of hypersensitivities
It is a well-known fact that specific high dosage immunotherapy for treating food intolerances can be extremely risky for anyone who suffers from allergies.
The possibility of using the low dosage tolerance induction strategy makes the path towards hyposensitization much smoother and treatments performed with this method are becoming increasingly frequent, even for serious allergic forms.
By way of a DRIA test we can not only identify the proper desensitizing dosage for the individual patient, we can even find a particular dose (neutralization dosage ) that inhibits the autoimmune allergic or hypersensitive reactions even for those related to different antigens within the same person.
This type of mechanism has been demonstrated in low dosage desensitizing relating to foods as well as respiratory allergens.
In the first case, it was proven that when a dilution of a food allergen (egg, for example) was given to a patent, it caused the reactivity towards other substances (usually fats) like soy lecithin or seed oils to disappear as well.
In the second case, subjects with multiple respiratory allergies (for example to birch and grass), began with a hyposensitizing treatment for birch and continued with the same type of treatment even during the graminaceous (grass) season, obtaining excellent results with regard to symptom control.
Scientifically speaking, we can hypothesize that, since the birch season was finished, the action was that of a secondary inhibition on the other similar antigens (as in the case of a possible connection between common grass and various foods) or other completely different ones.
This method of immune modulation is of extreme importance today and will definitely be even more so in the future.
Not only respiratory allergies
Recent scientific work (among which the studies conducted by Attilio Speciani, Marco Fumagalli and Giampiero Patriarca) have confirmed that the use of this treatment has brought about significant improvements even in clinical situations like contact dermatitis caused by nickel sulphate (which often plagues hairdressers or is typical in persons who develop reactions to costume jewelry).
This treatment, among other things, allows for a more varied diet and a more liberal contact with those objects that contain this widely diffused substance. Therefore, it's an instrument that is versatile and risk-free. It can and must be an integral part of the knowledge base of the allergist and general practitioner in order to respond to the need to enlarge and diversify the forms of allergy therapy available today.
Until this time, hyposensitization therapy has been used mostly for allergies and intolerances. However, during the New York Academy of Sciences congress on oral tolerance held in March of 1995 in New York, new perspectives on the possibilities of applying this instrument to other areas such as autoimmune pathologies, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, etc. were discussed.
These pathologies have almost always been treated exclusively with cortisone-based medicines, with immunosuppressants or highly toxic drugs such as cyclosporine.
When new immunization paths are found that are simple and have fewer risks of toxic or undesired side effects, an enormous quality leap can be achieved.
In the future, thanks to this significant improvement, we may be able to prevent or treat in a "softer" and more effective way pathologies that until today only brought about fear and anguish.
A personaized remedy for regaining tolerance
When a person has a reaction upon coming into contact with or eating foods, preservatives or respiratory allergens, these same substances, if taken in special concentrations, are able to exert a "neutralizing" action on the allergic reaction.
The DRIA test identifies the appropriate concentration necessary for achieving a protective action when the non-tolerated substance is ingested or touched. This preparation, referred to as "neutralization dosage", induces an immune tolerance to the substance that is often immediate.
The neutralization dosage varies from person to person and is therefore strictly personal. The preparations are always in microcrystalline cellulose capsules and patients can purchase them by prescription at the pharmacy. These preparations are the medicinal therapy that accompanies the dietetic treatment which lasts for a certain number of months, provided that the doctor who is following the case deems it appropriate.
A classic example of treatment is the one used for wheat and milk hypersensitivity. It's relatively easy today to prescribe a regulatory diet for a child (even school cafeterias are often able to accommodate it). Therefore, in the case of a child with wheat and milk intolerances, we generally prefer to formulate a diet focused on dairy products and simultaneously use the wheat "vaccine" in order to avoid excluding this last substance and its derivatives from the diet.
Among the practical possibilities of the DRIA test, there is also the option of formulating low dosage hyposensitizing therapy for classic respiratory allergens (in addition to those regarding food).
In these cases, a DRIA test can identify a quantifiable dosage of the substance or allergen that, when used therapeutically, can help re-establish immune tolerance for the allergen.
The same is true with persons affected by, for example, rhinoconjunctivitis and/or asthma that can be therapeutically treated with pharmaceutical substances.
The use of these preparations for cases of intolerance to mites or fungi (and therefore perennial allergens) has given very significant results in chronic inflammatory respiratory pathologies.
The same thing occurs with nickel, for example: people with serious nickel dermatitis (whether due to contact or ingestion) can benefit from a tolerance-inducing dosage that often resolves or at least makes the problem manageable (as demonstrated by the studies proposed in Berlin 2001 as well as in Birmingham 1998 during European allergology conferences).
As far as foods are concerned, a child or adult with allergic symptoms for lacto albumin, for example, who has occasionally eaten ice cream that contained milk products or who uses cooked ham without experiencing an anaphylactic reaction, can identify his personal tolerance-inducing preparation and use it as a therapeutic support for the recovery of food tolerance.
On the other hand, in an uncontrolled environment, no preparation containing (for example) egg or peanut must be tested on patients who have high specific IgE values (even if we don't know the affinity type) and who have never re-introduced those elements in their diet after an anaphylactic reaction.
In this case the choice of therapy and the tolerance-inducing measures cannot be standardized, but are entrusted to the absolute competence and responsibility of the specialist who follows the allergic patient.
We can say that today's clinical practice originates from the consideration (already diffused in the ‘80's) of allergic pathologies as disturbances in global regulation, and this made it possible to progress by way of the use of specific techniques and preparations .
What's more, recent scientific data confirms this type of conception and opens new roads for the treatment of allergic phenomena and for the re-balancing of tolerance for foods as well as respiratory allergens.
Today, the possibility of integrating the various types of existing knowledge (analytic and holistic) in a balanced way allows for operative potentials that were previously inconceivable.
Duration of the hyposensitizing therapy
When there are one or more food intolerances, the hyposensitizing treatment consists of daily oral doses that are taken at home for a period that varies from 2 to 12 months, according to the doctor's prescription.
For example, the hyposensitization therapy for nickel usually lasts from 6-12 months. For some foods the length of time varies from 3 to 12 months. In the case of respiratory allergens ( such as gramineae) the therapy is usually seasonal (beginning 2-3 months before pollination and ending when it is finished) but many individuals also seem to have a good response to a contextual use of pollination. In the case of perennial allergens (like mites, mold, candidiasis), its use may be continued over time. Nevertheless, in a great number of cases, we attempt to suspend the therapy after 12-18 months of treatment and evaluate the effects.
Another interesting aid is the homeopathic preparation Orthohistaminum. In its various dilutions, this remedy makes it possible to regulate the effects of histamine (a substance that is developed in an allergy or intolerance that causes inflammation).
The Orthohistaminum treatment can be started at any time of the year, alone or together with other preparations. Sometimes the use of this simple, yet important preparation makes it possible to follow a more permissive diet without problems or to keep the inflammatory symptoms in check, thereby accelerating tolerance recovery.
Doctor Attilio Speciani
Clinical allergist and immunologist
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