Immunothérapie et allergie alimentaire

Immunotherapy trials on food allergy were published some years ago and few of them were randomized. The protocols used varied and IgE-mediated food allergies were the first studied. Immunotherapy is mainly indicated for persistent food allergy after the usual age of recovery. Other factors, such as the dose of the allergen and the nature of the symptoms due to food allergy, are less well-defined with regard to indications for immunotherapy. Different techniques are available: the subcutaneous route, with well-known adverse effects when currently available extracts are used; the oral route, with efficacy in a third of the cases and the sublingual route, which seems to be promising. The real effect of immunotherapy, whether persistent, transitory or merely an increase in the amount of food tolerated, remains to be defined.