Bronchial asthma remains one of the most common chronic diseases with a high degree of morbidity and still a considerable mortality with an increasing prevalence in many countries. Although remarkable progress has been made in the past decades in the medical treatment for asthma, curative or disease modifying approaches are still limited to allergen immunotherapy (AIT). Despite a plethora of potential immunological actions observed during AIT, the precise mechamisms that might exert beneficial effects especially in asthma remain unclear. Clinical studies in the past have suggested clinical benefits in symptom control and medication use with a small reduction in allergen-specific and non-specific bronchial hyperresponsiveness but these results were mainly derived from small, frequently suboptimally designed studies which were poorly comparable. Only recently have larger, dose ranging studies with well standardized allergens with patient relevant endpoints such as corticosteroid requirements for asthma control or the onset of exacerbations following inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) withdrawal corroborated the potential clinical effects of AIT in asthma, suggesting that it might replace some of the controller effects of ICS. In addition, newer, up-do-date designed studies support previous data that in patient populations at risk to develop asthma AIT might have a role in secondary prevention. Further studies on the long term effects as well as comparative studies are needed to further corroborate the role of AIT in the prevention and the control of asthma are needed.

支气管哮喘仍然是最常见的慢性疾病之一，其发病率很高，死亡率仍然很高，在许多国家中，其患病率也在增加。尽管在过去的几十年中，哮喘的医学治疗取得了显着进展，但治愈或疾病改良方法仍仅限于变应原免疫疗法（AIT）。尽管在AIT期间观察到了许多潜在的免疫学作用，但尚不清楚确切的机制可能会产生有益的作用，尤其是在哮喘中。过去的临床研究表明，在症状控制和药物使用中，虽然过敏原特异性和非特异性支气管高反应性有少量降低，但临床获益很大，但这些结果主要来自于可比性较差的小型，经常次优设计的研究。直到最近才进行了更大范围的，剂量范围较广的研究，这些研究均采用标准化的过敏原，并具有与患者相关的终点指标，例如控制哮喘的皮质类固醇需求或吸入皮质类固醇（ICS）撤药后发作加剧，从而证实了AIT在哮喘中的潜在临床作用，表明它可能会替代AIT。 ICS的某些控制器效果。此外，更新的，最新的设计研究支持了先前的数据，即有患哮喘AIT风险的患者人群可能在二级预防中起作用。需要进一步研究长期作用以及进行比较研究，以进一步证实AIT在预防和控制哮喘中的作用。剂量范围研究采用标准化的过敏原以及与患者相关的终点指标，例如控制哮喘的皮质类固醇需求或吸入皮质类固醇（ICS）撤药后发作加剧，证实了AIT在哮喘中的潜在临床作用，表明它可能替代了某些控制作用ICS。此外，更新的，最新的设计研究支持了先前的数据，即有患哮喘AIT风险的患者人群可能在二级预防中起作用。需要进一步研究长期作用以及进行比较研究，以进一步证实AIT在预防和控制哮喘中的作用。剂量范围研究采用标准化的过敏原以及与患者相关的终点指标，例如控制哮喘的皮质类固醇需求或吸入皮质类固醇（ICS）撤药后发作加剧，证实了AIT在哮喘中的潜在临床作用，表明它可能替代了某些控制作用ICS。此外，更新的，最新的设计研究支持了先前的数据，即有患哮喘AIT风险的患者人群可能在二级预防中起作用。需要进一步研究长期作用以及进行比较研究，以进一步证实AIT在预防和控制哮喘中的作用。