Intralymphatic immunotherapy

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The intralymphatic immunotherapy (abbr .: ILIT ) is an experimental method of desensitization at which the allergen is not under the skin, but in a lymph node is injected.

The inventors, a working group led by the Zurich dermatologist Thomas Kündig , hope that this will result in a stronger immune response, as the responsible dendritic cells , T helper cells and B cells , three variants of white blood cells, are concentrated in the lymph nodes. According to their study, three injections at monthly intervals in which grass pollen extract was injected into the lymph nodes of the inguinal region under ultrasound control, are just as effective against hay fever in humans as 56 conventional subcutaneous injections used over three years .

Possible applications for ILIT are allergies to bee venom, grass pollen, and house dust mite allergens. An application against cat allergy is currently no longer being developed, in Kündig's opinion due to different commercial interests of the group that had acquired this patent.

The application of immune-effective substances (proteins, viruses, bacteria, etc.) in lymph nodes is a well-known technique. In animal experiments, this application increased the immune response considerably; in particular, the allergen-specific IgG2a antibodies increased 10 to 20 times more than when the allergens were applied subcutaneously. Several controlled phase I studies in volunteers have shown positive results. Studies with larger numbers of cases have not yet been published.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Thomas M. Kündig, Gabriela Senti: Intralymphatic Immunotherapy. Targeted in the lymph nodes . In: ENT news . tape 42 , no. 1 , 2012, p. 26 .
  2. ↑ Axel Trautmann, Jörg Kleine-Tebbe: Allergology in Clinic and Practice: Allergens - Diagnostics - Therapy . Georg Thieme Verlag, September 4, 2013, ISBN 978-3-13-159352-8 , p. 82.
  3. ↑ New successes in allergy and cancer. Tages-Anzeiger Zurich, July 20, 2015
  4. ↑ L. Cox, E. Compalati, et al. a .: New directions in immunotherapy. In: Current allergy and asthma reports. Volume 13, Number 2, April 2013, pp. 178-195, doi: 10.1007 / s11882-012-0335-7 , PMID 23315329 (review).