Allergies are caused by an immune system overreaction. Why can’t immunosuppressant drugs like Humira be used to prevent allergic reactions?
In: Biology
There are a few reasons. First, Humira targets a different part of the immune system than is triggered by allergies. Histamine is one of the most common immune signals for allergic responses, so most allergy meds block histamine signaling in some aspect. Humira blocks “Tumor Necrosis Factor” (TNF) signaling which is involved in viral infections, inducing fevers, cancer, and auto immune based inflammation.
Second, Humira has a much greater risk of severe side effects compared to over the counter allergy meds. This is because TNF signaling being used for a wider range of the immune system.
Allergies are also treated with immunosuppressive drugs. However, immune system is a broad term when it comes to analyze specific conditions as every condition is triggered by different part of the system. So every immunosuppressant targets various physiological or pathological mechanisms.
Glucocorticoids, being a subclass of immunosuppressive drugs, are combined with antihistaminic drugs to treat allergies. Still these drug classes so extensive that we need a physician to decide which specific drug should be used in which particular condition.
TNF blockers are also a subclass of immunosuppressive drugs. They bind to a protein called TNF-alpha, which is a protein that induces other proteins that will start a immune reaction.
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