New vaccine developed in Mexico could cure asthma

A group of scientists from the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) has developed a vaccine made out of several types of pollen found in Mexico City which affect the lung activity of around 10% of the country’s population.

The vaccine is meant to treat allergic asthma, though it will be customized so that the patients are only injected with specific antigens meant to treat the allergies that they’re susceptible to.

Unlike current therapies that apply all antigens known, even though the patient may not be allergic to all of them, the vaccine developed by the Polytechnic Institute only contains the exact amount of allergens causing the problem.

“This is a desensitization therapy through which each patient is given specific antigens with a single shot. Through this treatment, we are hoping for a permanent cure ,” stated César Augusto Sandino Reyes López, head of the investigation taking place at the National School of Medicine and Homeopathy (ENMH) .

The expert commented that allergist physicians are currently applying the treatment to evaluate its effects at the General de México, Juárez de México, Pemex, and Regional Specialty hospitals .

The administration of vaccinations, which is also known as immunotherapy, works by changing the disease’s normal course to generate protective reactions, mostly like any other vaccine.

“The vaccine stimulates antibody formation to block the allergen so that it cannot reach cell receptors and cause the symptomatic reactions. In order to accurately determine the degree of improvement, the first evaluation must be made six months after the beginning of the treatment,” he stated.

“It is very important to maintain close communication between the specialist and the patient, as well as following the desensitizing regime established to optimize results,” he warned.

The new vaccines developed by the IPN could open up new opportunities for the treatment of asthma patients; the first results of the desensitizing therapy will be available in 2020.

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