Cow's Milk and Hen's Egg Hyposensitization in Adults

Egg, milk and cereal allergies are the most important food allergies in Finnish children, the prevalence in western countries is 1-4 %. In some individuals food-allergy is maintained in to adulthood. Recent studies suggest that specific oral tolerance induction (SOTI) provides a treatment option in children with continuing allergy with high success rates. The study aims at specific oral tolerance induction in adults allergic to cow's milk or hen's egg. Oral immunotherapy involves taking very small amounts of the allergen, and slowly increasing the amount. Consequently, an elimination diet may be wholly or partially cancelled, without the fear of serious allergic reactions. Another aim is to explore changes in antibody-mediated and cell-mediated immune response to individual components of cow's milk and egg allergens during tolerance induction and compare these with the effect of the treatment.