Abstract

Allergic disease is a prevalent clinical and public health problem, and is among the most common health issues worldwide. The therapeutic strategies include two major categories: allergen-specific immunotherapy (AIT) and non-specific therapies. AIT is associated with improved tolerance to allergen challenge, with a decrease in immediate-phase and late-phase allergic inflammation. Despite its clinical practice for nearly a century, allergen extracts retain the risk of IgE-mediated allergic responses. Over the years, the epitope complexity of natural allergen extracts can be recreated using recombinant proteins, and more rational and safer preparations are appearing. Non-specific therapies mainly target the IgE-FcεRI interaction, as well as mast cells homeostasis or the multiple biological mechanisms of allergy. Nevertheless, the diseases sometimes remain un(der) diagnosed and inadequately treated. Continued experimental studies are crucial to develop new treatment approaches, as well as reliable biomarkers. And the guidelines of allergy medication has so far failed to be well implemented. Therefore, we summarize the latest advances of therapeutic alternatives involved in allergic diseases to offer clinicians a clearer understanding of the proposed therapeutic recommendations in order to use this knowledge to develop individualized treatment plan.

Authors and Affiliations