The effect of 4 weeks treatment with desloratadine (5 mg daily) on levels of interleukin (IL)-4, IL-10, IL-18 and TGF beta in patients suffering from seasonal allergic rhinitis

Anti-inflammatory effect of desloratadine (DL), including, but not limited to depression of production of IL-4, IL-6 and IL-8, has been shown in several in vitro experiments but only a few in vivo studies refer to this findings. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the influence of DL on levels of IL-4, IL-10, IL-18 and TGF-β in sera of patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR). Sixty-nine subjects suffering from SAR with hypersensitivity to grass pollen were included into the evaluation of clinical efficacy of DL (5 mg once daily). None of them was taking any H1 receptor antagonist during the pollen season before inclusion into the study. Samples of peripheral blood were taken before and after 4 weeks of treatment. Levels of cytokines were determined using the ELISA method. The mean level of IL-4 was 0.212±0.07 pg/ml before and 0.221±0.1 pg/ml after the treatment (p=0.52p=0.52); IL-10 5.13±3.14 and 4.71±0.88 (p=0.69p=0.69); IL-18 54.45±26.09 and 44.80±22.42 (p=0.48p=0.48); TGF beta 949.17±401.5 and 955.7±391.2 (p=0.97p=0.97) pg/ml before and after the treatment, respectively. Unless in vitro DL demonstrates not only anti-allergic but also anti-inflammatory activities data from this in vivo study in a group of patients suffering from SAR do not support previous pre-clinical findings.