Treatment of Atopic Dermatitis by Allergen-Antibody Complexes: Long-Term Clinical Results and Evolution of IgE Antibodies

Abstract

This study describes the long-term follow-up of the clinical response of 10 adult patients suffering from atopic dermatitis (AD) who were treated by administration of complexes made of Dermatophagoidespteronyssinus (Dpt) allergens and autologous antibodies specific to that allergen. We have already described the clinical improvement observed after 1 year of treatment involving regular injections of complexes; this improvement was maintained throughout a second year, even though the number of injections was greatly reduced. At the end of the second year of treatment, 5 patients were completely free of disease, and 3 had had a short-lasting recurrence of low-severity dermatitis. Using a disease intensity index the mean improvement for these 8 patients was 83% compared to baseline values. One patient showed a significant recurrence of symptoms, and 1 patient left the study for personal reasons when she was in good clinical condition. A significant reduction of specific anti-Dpt IgE antibody titers was observed in 7 out of the 8 patients in clinical remission, while the level of total IgE antibodies was unchanged until the very end of the study. This study not only confirms that clinical benefit can be obtained from the treatment of AD patients hypersensitive to Dpt by injections of allergen-antibody complexes but also indicates that the therapy induces a suppression of IgE antibody production that is specific for the particular allergen.

Immediate and Delayed Hypersensitivity to Mite Antigens in Atopic Dermatitis

“…It should also be mentioned that some authors posit the existence of important clinical correlations ( 29) and point to the potential impact of environmental manipulation (eviction measures) ( 2, 14, 15, 30, 31) and immunologic manipulation (immunotherapy, antigen/antibody complexes, immunosuppressive agents) ( 32–36) in the treatment of AD.…”

Immunotherapy of Atopic Dermatitis by Injections of Antigen-Antibody Complexes

“…The treatment was pur sued over 3 years in 8 patients, 5 of whom had practically no residual skin lesions after 2 years of follow-up, while the 3 others had a partial recurrence. An average improve ment of more than 80% was observed in those 8 patients [9].…”