Recent advances in immunotherapy for allergic diseases.

Allergic diseases are a major health problem worldwide. The therapeutic approaches to treat allergic rhinitis (AR) and allergic asthma (AA) fall in three major categories. The first step is allergen avoidance, or reduction of exposure to the offending allergen(s). The second and most widely used therapeutic practice is the prescription of relevant medication to reduce symptoms. The third therapeutic element is specific allergy vaccination, also known as allergen specific immunotherapy. Allergen-specific immunotherapy (SIT) is the only etiologic treatment of allergic disorders that can alter the natural course of the disease. In this review, recent advances in immunotherapy and relevant patents are presented. General vaccine modifications could be applied for any type of allergen. New specific modifications in allergic vaccines have been developed for a variety of allergies such as house dust mites, horse, cat, parvalbumin and from birch, ragweed and parietaria pollen.