ABSTRACT
I. INTRODUCTION Specific immunotherapy (therapeutic vaccination) is the practice of administering gradually increasing quantities of an allergen vaccine to an allergic subject to ameliorate the symptoms associated with subsequent exposure to the causative allergen. Allergen immunotherapy was introduced to treat "pollinosis" or allergic rhinitis by Noon and Freeman in 1911 (1). There is evidence that injections of inhalant allergens to treat allergic rhinitis and asthma are clinically effective despite some risks. Other routes of vaccination have been proposed, and sublingual vaccination using high allergen doses appears to be effective and safe (2-4).
