Mild to moderate ragweed allergies are conventionally treated using antihistamines or nasal corticosteroids. However, some people do not respond to these drugs, and some experience adverse reactions. Thus, for such individuals, allergen immunotherapy, or subcutaneous injections of the allergen, is done. However this form of therapy involves repeated visits to the clinic for the injections, over a period of 3-5 years.

A new vaccine developed by researchers from Johns Hopkins seems to present a better alternative. The experimental DNA-based vaccine has been shown to protect against ragweed allergies, commonly known as hay fever, after just six injections. The main advantage of this novel vaccine is that it is more likely for patients to go through this therapy, rather than the conventional immunotherapy that takes years to complete.

The experimental therapy holds the promise of one day eliminating the need for traditional allergy medicines targeting allergy symptoms, such as nasal steroids and antihistamines, and providing a safer, faster replacement for immunotherapy regimens, which are costly and take years to work, the researchers say.

This is a promising vaccine candidate. It will most likely still take years before this vacine comes out to the market, but it's a milestone.

Should you want to read the publsihed manuscript describing the vaccine's pilot trials, the study is published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) also has a feature report.

[Photo: Weed Science Society of America]