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Yes I have heard about this tablet for hay fever developed at the Homerton hospital here in the UK and being proven up all over the world at the moment. It is called Grasax and is looking pretty likely for release generally in 2008.
I have also heard that various doctors have talked about developing it for insect stings immunotherapy but this is quite a long way away, as I understand it because of various issus with insect sting venom proteins. What is called sub-lingual immuntherapy is already a tried and tested treatment for the reduction in asthma from air born allergies such as dust mites - used mainly in children. The real trick with hay fever and insect stings, as I have understood this new research, is that the antigen proteins that really do the damage are changed gentically so that the essential protein is the same but the bit that causes the anaphylaxis is disabled, or at least reduced in its efficacy. As you can imagine this is difficult genetic modification and testing it is not easy either. Any volunteers from our Group???!!!
The insect venom proteins are less stable and apparently more complex so it is a while away yet.
Fascinating stuff though and worth waiting for if you are a youngster and scared of allergy injections!!
David
----- Original Message -----From: Roz HannanSent: Friday, March 16, 2007 11:15 AMSubject: [insectstings] The latest?
Oh Chris. That sounds scary! Poor you, but hopefully it will only be a temporary set back.I had to visit the Allergy Specialist at our local hospital yesterday (Eldest daughter has a dairy allergy) We of course got talking about my son and his wasp allergy as she knows him from old!! In this area it seems as if the funding for immunotherapy has dried up, at least for now. She did tell me about the trials that are being done for a tablet (it had a name) which will treat pollen/ hay fever allergies (I don't mean antihistamine) and, in her opinion, if it is successful they will start to look at treating the insect venom allergies in a similar way. She thought that, by the time my son is looking "actively" at imunotherapy this pill could be available (4 or so years?).Has anyone heard anything similar? David?I am probably grasping at straws, but wouldn't it be wonderful if it happens!!!Roz.
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