[Specific immunotherapy using the slow alpha fraction of Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus. Efficacy; tolerance]

This open study was made on 126 patients (72 men, 54 women). Specific immunotherapy (IT) commenced in 1988 with the Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus alpha fraction (alpha -F Dpt) a new standardised, purified allergen, of better quality, but more reactive. The patient were aged between 4 and 66 years (mean 23.1 years) the subjects were young and the majority were male. Most (93.6%) showed at least respiratory symptoms (asthma, rhinitis). In about a quarter of the patients there were also dermatological and ocular symptoms. The patients were usually desensitized according to the classical technique (76.6%) we recorded semi-accelerated IT in only one case. Overall, IT with alpha-F Dpt was efficacious (54.7% O and well tolerated (74.5%). Efficacy and tolerance were better with the "accelerated" technique than the classic (respectively 73.9% against 60.6% and 86.9%). In contrast, efficacy and tolerance were not influenced by age or sex. Finally, we believe that IT has more chance of being efficacious if the initial biological values are more significant.