Preface

Type 1 allergic diseases (allergic rhinitis or hay fever, rhinoconjunctivitis, allergic asthma and allergic dermatitis) are a global health problem and are the most common cause of chronic ill health in the western societies. These allergic diseases have increased in prevalence during the past three decades especially in western countries and an upward trend has been forecasted. Current commonly used treatments focus on relief of the clinical symptoms rather than underlying immune mechanisms. Antihistamine and topical corticosteroids are commonly used drugs to relieve symptoms or to alleviate allergic inflammation respectively. Development of cure or vaccine for atopic allergic diseases has not advanced significantly since 1911. Specific immunotherapy remains the only causative approach towards the treatment of such allergic diseases. Conventional immunotherapy involves administration of natural allergen extracts containing mixture of undefined components with potential to induce life-threatening anaphylactic response and new IgE reactivities. Recent advances in molecular biology have led to exponential increase in our understanding of molecular mechanisms involved in manifestation of type 1 allergy symptoms. In addition, molecular approaches have provided tools to resolve structural features of allergen molecules and develop novel therapeutic vaccines for improved and safer form of specific immunotherapy. Moreover, recombinant allergens offer unique possibility for accurate diagnosis and design of patient tailored immunotherapy. Recent clinical trials with engineered birch pollen allergen have demonstrated efficacy of this approach. In this issue, leading researchers in the field of allergy review emerging therapeutic approaches for treatment of allergic diseases. Various strategies and approaches covered include, cellular and immunological mechanisms of immunotherapy, current strategies for genetic modification of allergens, DNA vaccines, anti-IgE therapy, non-injection routes of vaccine delivery, immunotherapy for food allergies, production systems for recombinant allergens and immuno-informatic tools for designing allergy vaccines. Hopefully, this Hot topic issue will provide the readers with emerging perspectives on immunotherapy of type 1 allergic diseases.