Equine Veterinary Education· 2026Q1
Allergen immunotherapy for equine insect bite hypersensitivity: Does it reduce clinical signs?
- 0citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2026year
Short summary
Conventional allergen immunotherapy (AIT) using crude Culicoides extracts shows inconsistent benefits for equine insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH), while a recent study using recombinant allergens reported greater improvement in lesion scores and responder rates.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Conventional AIT with crude Culicoides extracts offers inconsistent benefits for equine IBH.
- One uncontrolled trial suggested improvement, but had a high risk of bias.
- A recent placebo-controlled study using recombinant Culicoides allergens showed greater improvement in lesion scores.
- The recombinant allergen study reported a higher proportion of responders compared to placebo.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Summary Insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) is a common, recurrent allergic skin disease of horses. This critically appraised topic evaluated whether therapeutic allergen immunotherapy (AIT) reduces clinical signs in affected horses. Four databases were searched and five therapeutic clinical studies were retained. Controlled studies using crude or commercial Culicoides extracts did not show a consistent benefit over placebo or control treatment. One uncontrolled trial reported improvement but had a high risk of bias. A recent placebo‐controlled study using recombinant Culicoides allergens reported greater improvement in lesion scores and a higher proportion of responders. Conventional extract‐based AIT cannot currently be recommended as reliably effective; recombinant‐allergen AIT is promising but requires confirmation in larger, diverse populations.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Equine Veterinary Education, 2026 · DOI ↗
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