Jong, R.J. de (2010) How effective is oral immunotherapy for food allergies and can it already be applied in clinic? Bachelor's Thesis, Biology.
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Abstract
In development countries the number of people suffering from food allergies is on the rise. Currently, the main hope for patients is to grow out their allergy while on an avoidance diet. In this review we focus on oral immunotherapy (OIT), a potential treatment for food allergies. After the introduction, the research method is described. Subsequently, the general principle of OIT is explained. The results describe the main points of each article which are included in this review. The main points are described in the context of efficacy and safety. The description of the main points is followed by a discussion of these points. Of the 274 patients, enrolled in twelve clinical trails included in this review, 181 patients (66%) full desensitized after treatment. Control groups were included to examine if desensitization and/or tolerance are/is induced by OIT or by natural outgrow. Some studies performed an elimination diet after treatment to examine if the effect of OIT is persistent or transient. The effect of OIT is significant positive straight after treatment compared to the control groups. This effect finished after an elimination diet and this indicates that OIT thus not induce tolerance and that OIT contribute towards desensitization. However, there are some disadvantages. The results are supported only by a limited amount of studies and the general conclusions are debatable because there is much variation between studies in protocols (duration of therapy, dose increase scheme, way to establish allergies) and characteristics of patients enrolled in the trails (mean age, multiple food allergies, severity of allergy). Furthermore, some studies have not included control groups, did not performing an elimination diet after OIT, and did not enrolling a reliable number of patients in there studies. There is needed more knowledge for we can apply this treatment in clinics. In addition, it is difficult to say if OIT therapy is safe enough to apply in clinic. To collect comparable information about the safety of this therapy it is advisable to use a reliable method to establish the severity of side-effects. Furthermore, it is important to examine the effect of OIT on different groups with discrepancies in age, kind of allergy, multiple allergies etc. Thus, more research is needed.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Bachelor's Thesis) |
|---|---|
| Degree programme: | Biology |
| Thesis type: | Bachelor's Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Date Deposited: | 15 Feb 2018 07:31 |
| Last Modified: | 15 Feb 2018 07:31 |
| URI: | https://fse.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/9295 |
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