The History of LDA
LDA is patterned after Enzyme Potentiated Desensitization (EPD), developed by the brilliant clinical and academic allergist, Leonard M. McEwen, M.D., in England in the 1960’s. The method involves desensitization with combinations of a wide variety of extremely low dose allergens. These allergens are given with the enzyme, beta-glucuronidase. The beta glucuronidase activates extremely miniscule doses of various allergens and stimulates the production of T Regulator (T Reg) cells. These cells actively "switch off" helper cells that are erroneously causing patients to be ill by misidentifying normal substances in the body to be allergens. T-cells may live for long periods of time in the bloodstream, so LDA needs to be administered only every 2 months at first, and then less often as time passes.
Dr. Shrader published his own EPD study in 1993 after 2 years of administration of EPD to 134 patients in his office. As a result of the impressive improvement of most of those patients, he became very enthusiastic about EPD and approached Dr. McEwen with the idea of doing a much larger study. He was enthusiastic. Dr. Shrader founded the American EPD Society, a group of physicians to study Dr. McEwen’s EPD treatment, and they conducted the largest study of EPD ever done, from 1993 through 2002. Over 100 physicians participated in the study in the U.S. and Canada from 1993 to 2002 and gathered data from approximately 10,500 patients. The results from the study were extremely impressive.
Unfortunately, in April of 2002, the supply of EPD was no longer available in the U.S. In response to patients that were dependent on this mode of therapy for their continued quality of health, and by working with a compounding pharmacy to fill the U.S. supply need, Dr. Shrader created a therapy similar to EPD. He called this treatment “LDA”, short for Low Dose Allergen therapy, and it has been used in the U.S. and Canada since 2002. His formulation uses the same active components as EPD, but it has many more pollens, foods, chemicals and other allergens. The use of LDA is limited by necessity in the U.S. because it is available only by prescription for specific physicians’ patients and is not available as a retail product.
Through years of dedication and refinement, LDA has provided a vital solution for patients who previously had limited options, offering lasting relief and improved quality of life. As more physicians incorporate this therapy, the future of allergy and immune system treatment continues to evolve—one patient at a time.
