A novel serum-based assay of functional IgG inhibitory activity is predictive of the clinical response to immunotherapy

在英国，花粉热影响了1200万人，可能会破坏我们大多数人一年中最好的时光。花粉热会影响工作时的注意力，并可能降低学校考试的成绩。许多患者对抗组胺药和鼻腔类固醇喷雾剂有反应。仍有一部分人可能从过敏疫苗接种（脱敏注射）中受益。这种疗法100年前在英国被发现，非常有效，但需要专家监督。我们与ALK Abello公司合作开发了一种替代的、有效的、更安全的疫苗，它含有草提取物，每天作为舌下快速溶解的片剂服用（GRAZAX）。基于我们对疫苗接种如何起作用的理解，我们现在希望开发一种测试，测量血液中的“保护性”抗体，这将使我们能够预测那些可能对脱敏反应最好的患者，并监测治疗的效果。

Hayfever affects 12 million people in UK and may ruin what for most of us is the best time of the year. Hayfever impairs concentration at work and may reduce performance in school exams. Many sufferers respond to antihistamines and nasal steroid sprays. There remains a hard core who may benefit from allergy vaccination (desensitisation injections). Discovered in UK 100 years ago, this treatment is highly effective but requires specialist supervision . We have developed in partnership with a company, ALK Abello, an alternative, effective and safer vaccine containing grass extract that is taken daily as a rapidly dissolving tablet under the tongue (GRAZAX). Based on our understanding of how vaccination works, we now wish to develop a test that measures ‘protective’ antibodies in the bloodstream that will allow us to predict those patients who are likely to respond best to desensitisation and to monitor the effects of treatment.