OPTIMAL DOSE ALLERGEN VACCINE By: Donald Senter, MD For an allergen vaccine to be clinically effective, the dose must be high enough to stimulate the immune system and normalize immune functions in an allergic person. The World Health Organization describes Optimal Dose Allergen Vaccine as the dose of allergen vaccine inducing a clinically relevant effect in the majority of patients without causing unacceptable side effects. This Optimal Dose should also be the maintenance target dose for all patients. Optimal Therapeutic Dosing is the most effective allergy vaccine keeping in balance efficacy and safety issues. Our office uses a more specific description of Optimal Therapeutic Dose Allergen Vaccine where each allergen, (dust mites, individual pollens, danders, etc.) has a target maintenance dose that will give 90% of our patients good control of each individual allergen while minimizing the risk of adverse reactions. The other 10% may need further customization of their treatment as some will require a stronger vaccine while a few may never achieve Optimal dosing due to local or possibly systemic reactions. As dose is increased above Optimal Therapeutic Level, there is a n increased risk of adverse reactions, however many of our patients who need this increase to gain best control do very well on their stronger vaccine. Optimal Therapeutic Allergy Vaccine is more expense to produce than then weaker versions. Since our office has adopted this treatment nearly 10 years ago, our patients have had a much improved quality of life, more freedom from allergy symptoms and a significant reduction in respiratory infections. "Low-dose immunotherapy is ineffective" is a quote from World Health Organization position paper JACI 1998: 102:558-62. Low dose immunotherapy is popular among many physicians who are not Board Certified Allergists. Some physicians draw a blood test and mail it to a lab, the lab then sends back a vaccine of unknown potency. Some initial benefit may be obtained from either approach, however, long term studies have not proven efficacy. Many Certified Allergists have tried the Optimal Dose Allergen Vaccine but have gone back to the weaker vaccine due to increase reactions. Our office has, through quality control in formulation and delivery, reduced adverse reactions, while maintaining the overwhelming majority of our patients on Optimal Therapeutic Dose Allergen Vaccine. Reaction rates are less than 1 in 4000 injections through the year while published reaction rates vary from 1 in 500 injections to 1 in 1400 injections. We are very proud of these results and our patients are happy beneficiaries of more effective treatment. Optimal Therapeutic Dose Allergen Vaccine has the capability of initially building blocking antibodies against individual allergens. These blocking antibodies travel to the mucous membranes where they can capture the allergens before they have a chance to interact with MAST cells and set up local tissue damage from chronic reactions. In addition, the Allergen Vaccine may reduce the Allergic Antibody production. That's another story in itself; see "How Allergen Vaccines Work". Blog Home Next Blog Entry