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New research suggests that children suffering from allergic rhinitis who are treated with an allergy vaccine have less chance of developing asthma.
The 10-year study, which is published in the August issue of Allergy, found that children with the condition who are given Alutard SQ have a reduced risk of developing the disease.
Young hay fever sufferers are recognised as being susceptible to developing asthma later in their lives.
The research was a randomised prospective open and controlled follow-up study conducted in five European countries with 205 patients.
Children treated by the scientists were given subcutaneous injections of Alutard SQ for three years.
Researchers found 45% of the children with allergic rhinitis who were not treated with Alutard SQ went on to develop asthma.
And they concluded that the risk of developing asthma decreased by approximately 50% in the group of vaccinated children.
Dr Bodo Niggemann, professor at the Department of Pediatric Pneumology and Immunology, Charité, Berlin, said: “The results of our seven-year follow-up analysis of these children following three years of treatment with Alutard SQ confirm our hypothesis that there is a treatment which can prevent asthma.
“The data is particularly convincing because the odds ratio of developing asthma between treated and nontreated children is consistent after three, five and now 10 years of follow-up.”
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