Local immunotherapy with Dermatophagoides extract in asthma.

Local immunotherapy (LIT) with Dermatophagoides extract or placebo were administered to two groups of 11 patients with allergic asthma in a double-blind fashion. All patients received cromolyn sodium (20 mg four times a day) during treatments. Bronchial provocation tests with allergen and methacholine were performed before, 1 week, and 4 weeks after the end of treatments. Symptom score, drug consumption, and peak expiratory flow were monitored daily from 2 weeks before to 4 weeks after treatments. Compared to baseline, early bronchial sensitivity to allergen was significantly reduced both 1 week (p less than 0.0005) and 4 weeks (p less than 0.01) after LIT but not after placebo administration. Late bronchial reaction to allergen occurred similarly after placebo administration and LIT. However, in the group with LIT, the severity of late reaction was unchanged after treatment in spite of the significantly larger doses of allergen administered to provoke the early asthmatic reaction. Neither symptom score, nor drug consumption, nor peak expiratory flow were significantly different in the two groups before and during the treatment period even though both symptom score and drug consumption tended to be reduced after LIT. We conclude that LIT may be an effective and safe alternative to traditional immunotherapy.