Long-Term Effect of Oral Grass-Allergy Therapy

Subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) — popularly called “allergy shots” — is the only proven means of modifying the natural history of allergic disease. Because of inconvenience in administration and potential adverse reactions with SCIT, sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) has gained favor in Europe. But many questions remain: Is SLIT as efficacious as SCIT? What is the optimum dose of SLIT? Is multiallergen SLIT effective? Can SLIT modify the natural history of allergic disease?

The last question was addressed in an industry-sponsored European multicenter randomized trial that involved 257 adults with grass allergies. Patients were treated daily for 3 years with sublingual-dissolving tablets that contained timothy grass pollen (Grazax) or placebo…