Food allergy
H. A. Sampson
The evaluation of adverse reactions to foods involving abnormal immune
responses to food allergens remains an important part of the practice of
allergy and immunology. Approximately 5% of children younger than 3 years
and 1.5% of the general population experience food allergic disorders,
indicating that about 4 million Americans suffer from food allergies. The
evaluation of adverse reactions to foods depends on a careful clinical
history, diagnostic studies including appropriate skin testing or in vitro
testing with food extracts, and/or endoscopy and biopsy. The mainstay of
therapy remains avoidance of incriminated foods and education to deal with
inadvertent exposures. Experience over the past decade suggests that the
ready availability and early introduction of highly allergenic foods (eg,
peanuts and nuts) into the diet will only increase the number of
individuals suffering from hypersensitivity reactions to foods. Research
has focused on the identification and characterization of allergenic
proteins and the development of new therapeutic strategies, eg, plasmid DNA
vaccines, to treat these disorders.
