DKK 15 million towards research into better treatment of allergies
Can three injections of allergen into a lymph node help people who have grass pollen allergy? Researchers from Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital believe that it can, and they have received a grant of DKK 15 million from the Innovation Fund Denmark to study the new vaccination method more closely.
Spring is on the way, and with the lengthening of days, more pollen comes into the air and thus more discomfort for the approx. 500,000 Danes who suffer from hay fever.
Professor Hans Jürgen Hoffmann and PhD student Karin Jeppesen, both from the Department of Clinical Medicine, are heading a research team that is testing a new method for vaccinating allergy sufferers. The method is based on intralymphatic immunotherapy (ILIT) – and it is not a new vaccine but rather a new way of vaccinating. Instead of a vaccination in the arm, the injection is given in a lymph node in the groin where it affects the immune system.
Current allergy treatment consists of either 30-50 injections over a three to five year period or treatment which involves taking a tablet daily for three years. With the new method, allergy sufferers can make do with three vaccinations directly in a lymph node over a period of only two months. And the researchers expect the method to be able to reduce allergy symptoms by up to fifty per cent.
The Innovation Fund Denmark has invested DKK 15.3 million in the project, while Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital are contributing DKK 2.5 million and DKK 7.5 million, respectively.
Read more about the new type of immunotherapy on the research project's website, where it is also possible to sign up as a test subject.
Contact
MD, PhD Student Karin Jeppesen
Aarhus University, Department of Clinical Medicine and
Aarhus University Hospital, Department of Respiratory Diseases and Allergy, Allergy Center AUH
Mobile: (+45) 51 27 50 83
Email: karin.jeppesen@clin.au.dk
Professor Hans Jürgen Hoffmann
Aarhus University, Department of Clinical Medicine and
Aarhus University Hospital, Department of Respiratory Diseases and Allergy, Allergy Center AUH
Mobile: (+45) 28 18 81 47
Email: hjh@clin.au.dk
This coverage is based on press material from Aarhus University Hospital.