Pediatrics & Neonatology
Volume 50, Issue 2 , Pages 44-49, April 2009

Sublingual Immunotherapy in Children: An Updated Review

  • Chang-Hung Kuo

      Affiliations

    • Department of Pediatrics, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Wei-Li Wang

      Affiliations

    • Department of Pediatrics, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Yu-Te Chu

      Affiliations

    • Department of Pediatrics, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Min-Sheng Lee

      Affiliations

    • Department of Pediatrics, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Chih-Hsing Hung

      Affiliations

    • Department of Pediatrics, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
    • Graduate Institute of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
    • Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Department of Pediatrics, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, No. 100, Shi-Chuan 1st Road, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Received 12 May 2008; received in revised form 11 September 2008; accepted 20 October 2008.

Article Outline

Although pharmacological therapy and allergen avoidance are effective means of managing allergic disease, allergen-specific immunotherapy is able to treat not only the symptoms, but also the underlying causes of the disease. Sublingual immuno-therapy (SLIT) has been shown to be effective in patients with allergic diseases. It has demonstrated long-term clinical benefits and shown the potential to modify the course of allergic disease in children with rhinitis, conjunctivitis, and asthma. The precise mechanisms of SLIT remain unclear, but antigen-presenting cells in the oral mucosa may induce regulatory T-cells that suppress the allergic immune response by increasing production of interleukin-10. SLIT has also been shown to increase allergen-specific IgG antibodies that antagonize and block the allergic response. SLIT was well tolerated in all reported, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, randomized trials. SLIT is an ideal means of treating the pediatric population because of its excellent safety and good compliance. However, the optimal dose and duration of SLIT require further investigation.

Key Words:  allergic disease , clinical efficacy , mechanism , sublingual immunotherapy

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PII: S1875-9572(09)60031-0

doi:10.1016/S1875-9572(09)60031-0

Pediatrics & Neonatology
Volume 50, Issue 2 , Pages 44-49, April 2009

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