End in Sight for Deadly Bee Sting Allergy
Flinders University has successfully tested a new bee venom allergy vaccine using the Advax adjuvant — making therapy shorter and more effective.
Flinders University has successfully tested a new bee venom allergy vaccine using the Advax adjuvant — making therapy shorter and more effective.
Flinders University, together with the Royal Adelaide Hospital, has successfully tested a new vaccine against bee venom allergy. The secret lies in using the sugar adjuvant Advax. This compound boosts the vaccine's effect and prevents allergic reactions. According to scientists, thanks to the adjuvant, allergy immunotherapy may become shorter and more effective.
The vaccine was tested on 27 volunteers. It allowed the immune system to neutralize bee venom more effectively and prevent allergic symptoms. Treatment through gradually "introducing" the body to the allergen can take up to 5 years. Usually this requires frequent medication injections. But with the new vaccine, injections can be given less often.
During the trial, patients were monitored for three years and received the vaccine every week for the first 12 weeks, then once a month. Blood tests showed that this therapy regimen helped maintain elevated levels of allergen-clearing antibodies over a long period.
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