Low percentage of clinically relevant pistachio nut and mango co-sensitisation in cashew nut sensitised children.
BACKGROUND: Cashew nut, pistachio nut and mango belong to the Anacardiaceae family and are botanically related. Therefore, cashew nut sensitised children are frequently advised to eliminate cashew nuts and pistachio nuts from their diet. The 'Improvement of Diagnostic mEthods for ALlergy assessment (IDEAL trial number NTR3572) study showed that cashew nut sensitised children were co-sensitised […]
Detection of Food Allergens by Taqman Real-Time PCR Methodology.
Real-time PCR (polymerase chain reaction) has shown to be a very effective technology for the detection of food allergens. The protocol described herein consists on a real-time PCR assay targeting the plant ITS (Internal Transcribed Spacer) region, using species-specific primers and hydrolysis probes (Taqman) dual labeled with a reporter fluorophore at the 5' end (6-carboxyfluorescein, […]
Detection of Food Allergens by Phage-Displayed Produced Antibodies.
Phage display is a powerful tool to produce recombinant antibodies against a given antigen without animal immunization. This technology employs libraries of recombinant bacteriophages that display billions of different functional antibody fragments on their surface. They are selected by panning in vitro against the target antigen in search for specific binders. In this chapter, we […]
A Limited Survey of Dark Chocolate Bars Obtained in the United States for Undeclared Milk and Peanut Allergens.
Undeclared allergens in chocolate products have been responsible for numerous allergen-related recalls in the United States. A survey was conducted to determine the prevalence of undeclared milk and peanut in 88 and 78 dark chocolate bars, respectively. Concentrations of milk (as nonfat dry milk) or peanut in three samples of each chocolate product were determined […]
Peanut Allergen Threshold Study (PATS): Novel single-dose oral food challenge study to validate eliciting doses in peanut allergic children.
BACKGROUND: Eliciting doses (ED) of allergenic foods can be defined by the distribution of threshold doses for individuals within a specific population. ED05 is the dose that elicits a reaction in 5% of allergic subjects. The predicted ED05 for peanut (PN) is 1.5 mg of peanut protein (6 mg whole peanut). OBJECTIVE: We sought to […]
Phenotypical characterization of peanut allergic children with differences in cross‐allergy to tree nuts and other legumes.
BACKGROUND: Peanut allergy in children is often associated with allergies to tree nuts and/or legumes. The aim of the present study was to analyze in cluster a cohort of children allergic to peanuts and assessed for cross-reactivity to nuts and legumes and to identify different phenotypes. METHODS: We included retrospectively 317 children with peanut allergy […]
Can pan-allergens affect the sensitization pattern?
The present study tested the hypothesis that a pan-allergen sensitization may affect the sensitization pattern. For this reason, 22 sensitization pattern allergens (SPA), common in Genoa (Italy), were selected for analyses. Successively, five of them, such as Pru p 3 as representative for LTP family, Bet v 1 and Pru p 1 for PR-10, and […]
Review suggests that the immunoregulatory and anti‐inflammatory properties of allergenic foods can provoke oral tolerance if introduced early to infants’ diets.
For years, the advice was to postpone introducing allergenic foods, in order to prevent food allergies. However, food allergies have escalated rather than declined and our review of the latest epidemiological, immunological and nutritional research suggests that early weaning practices may be beneficial. The most allergenic foods, such as fish, eggs and peanuts, have proved […]
Epicutaneous immunotherapy for the treatment of peanut allergy in children and young adults. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
BACKGROUND: Peanut allergy is common, life-threatening, and without therapeutic options. We evaluated peanut epicutaneous immunotherapy (EPIT) by using Viaskin Peanut for peanut allergy treatment. OBJECTIVE: We sought to evaluate the clinical, safety, and immunologic effects of EPIT for the treatment of peanut allergy. METHODS: In this multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study, 74 participants with peanut […]
Enhanced Prophylactic and Therapeutic Effects of Polylysine-Modified Ara h 2 DNA Vaccine in a Mouse Model of Peanut Allergy.
BACKGROUND: The prevalence of food allergy has been increasing, but treatment is very limited. DNA vaccination has been recognized as a promising method for the treatment of allergic diseases; however, poor immunogenicity has hindered its application. METHODS: BALB/c mice were intradermally injected with plasmid DNA encoding the peanut protein Ara h 2 (pAra h 2) […]