[Introduction] It is necessary to suppress the allergic march in infants who have food allergies (FA) or atopic dermatitis (AD). To determine whether Th2-type cytokine inhibitors (IPD) are useful for the primary prevention of asthma, we analyzed the allergic march on the basis of the Th1/Th2 ratio, examined the effect of IPD.
[Material and Methods] 1. The Th1/Th2 ratio was measured in children with AD to examine differences among various types of allergic diseases. 2. To study whether IPD was effective for the primary prevention of asthma, the incidence of initial wheezing was examined in 32 children with FA and AD who were assigned to receive IPD or an Histamine H1-blocker. The changes of Th1/Th2, total IgE level and eosinophil count in peripheral-blood after treatment were compared.
[Results] 1. The Th1/Th2 ratio was low even at the stage of AD a few months after birth. 2. The incidence of initial wheezing after treatment was significantly lower in IPD group than in the Histamine H1-blocker group. Moreover, the eosinophil count was significantly decreased and Th1/Th2 ratio was significantly increased in IPD group, as compared with the H1 group.
[Conclusion] IPD given at the stage of food allergy several months after birth is useful for primary prevention of atopic asthma.