Sublingual immunotherapy in children: an updated review.

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 immunotherapy (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.