Food Allergy Living Blog Tagged Results

A new Milk Allergy Desensitization study is being conducted at Children’s Hospital Boston. Cameras followed the first patient to participate in the study, Brett Nasuti, along the way. Brett is 11 years old and was born with allergies to 15 different foods, including a severe milk allergy.

The first video in this three part series features Brett and his mother Robin talking about the challenges the family faces living with his milk allergy. In the second video Dr. Lynda Schneider, MD, the Allergy Program Director, discusses the details of her groundbreaking study and how the clinical trial works. Finally, in the third video we get to watch as Brett takes his first “sips” of milk to test his tolerance.

You’ll have to watch the videos to see the outcome of Brett’s first experience with milk, but this little guy has a great attitude throughout the process. Hopefully this study will bring new hope and a cure for food allergies!

-Nita

We’ve posted before about Oral Immunotherapy, but since our last update about research by Johns Hopkins, a few more positive studies have been conducted. These studies show hope that Oral Immunotherapy could someday lead to a more effective treatment for those suffering from various food allergies.

If you are not familiar with Oral Immunotherapy, it is essentially building up a tolerance to a certain allergen by ingesting small quantities of it and gradually increasing the amount of the allergen the patient can safely eat. As you can imagine, this is a risky process and should not be attempted at home, but might become a refined enough treatment to one day be used by doctors in treating food allergies.

Though the thought of being able to get rid of allergies is exciting, it’s not quite time to start celebrating. The studies conducted have been relatively small, and not 100% successful. Some of those involved in the process have had anaphylactic reactions, and others have just been unsuccessful in increasing dosage. It’s also not clear whether patients need to keep on eating the allergen to maintain tolerance.

While a lot of research still needs to be done to determine if Oral Immunotherapy is a viable treatment, the idea that individuals with food allergies may not have to avoid certain foods for the rest of their lives is exciting. To read a recent story from the Washington Post about a 9 year old girl with severe milk allergies who has successfully undergone immunotherapy, click here.

You can also check out how many clinical trials are currently being conducted by doing a search at the National Institute of Health Clinical Trials Web site.

Let’s hope these studies go somewhere, and be sure to update us on any other promising allergy treatments out there that you hear about!

-Mallory

A few months ago, my colleague wrote an a entry on a New York Time’s article that touted an increase in the misdiagnosis of food allergies. A similar study was presented this weekend at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology’s (AAAAI) annual meeting.

According to the study by David Fleischer, M.D. of National Jewish Health in Denver, common blood tests for food-specific serum IgE’s are often wrong and aren’t a good basis for restricting children’s diets. The study included supervising oral food challenges — in which children observed by professionals are fed increasing amounts of suspect foods over time to gauge their reactions. The study showed that 50 percent of the kids tested could tolerate foods they had been told to avoid.

To read more about the study, click here.

And if you have any questions, send them my way!

- Christine

I’ve been following the food allergy labeling debate for awhile now. Back in September, we blogged about a hearing held by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to develop a long-term strategy to clear up accidental-allergy warnings that are misleading consumers. According to a study released this weekend at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology’s annual meeting, this is still a safety concern for all food allergy parents.

The study found that a small number of food products with the “may contain” label actually do contain allergens. 5.3 percent of randomly selected grocery store food items with this label contained detectable levels of egg, milk or peanut and 2 percent of food products with no such warning also contained allergens. In all, 399 products were tested.

To read the entire US News & World Report article on the study, click here.

The Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 required new labels for packaged foods containing major allergens, but the “may contain” labels were not covered in this Act.

As we’ve said before, be very vigilant when purchasing food products for your little ones that you have not made yourself. Unfortunately, potential allergens may still be in a food product, even if it’s not on the label.

On a positive note, President Obama has vowed to help with food safety in his recent weekly address. He announced his appointments to the FDA and covered the recent salmonella scare in the Georgia peanut plan. Click here to check out a Wall Street Journal article on the topic.

Any questions or comments? I’d love to hear them.

- Nita

The Mayo Clinic reported in the December issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology that a new study indicates that there is a “higher incidence of anaphylactic reactions then previously reported.”

The study, called “The etiology and incidence of anaphylaxis in Rochester, Minnesota,” concluded that there are 50 emergency room visits per 100,000 people per year caused by anaphylaxis — this is a 10% increase in anaphylaxis cases over a 10-year period.

Dr. Wyatt W. Decker, M.D., and his team said 1/3 of the anaphylaxis cases were from food allergies.

What does this tell us? Even with all the urgency put on food allergy education, people are still suffering. Please be watchful of any potential allergens and teach your little ones to do the same. And as always, never leave home without the EpiPen!

- Christine

Not so fast. Most likely, this is a big “no, no” if you have an infant with a severe milk protein allergy.

Recently, a small study of 19 children was released from Johns Hopkins Children’s Center on oral immunotherapy for allergies. The researchers were able to desensitize children with an allergy to milk protein by giving them a very small amount and gradually increasing the quantity to build up a tolerance.

For those of you with infants, be aware that this study is focused on older kids who can’t have milk, but whose allergies are not severe enough for them to need an elemental formula, like Neocate.

This is also a study that will likely launch other studies.

I wanted to explain that difference for those parents who might have been confused. If your infant has a severe milk protein allergy, please consult your doctor before changing his or her diet.

John Hopkins is currently studying oral immunotherapy in children with an egg allergy.

For more information, check out this Los Angeles Times blog entry.

And as always, feel free to send any questions my way!

- Nita

All the more reason to be allergy aware! The Center for Disease Control recently released a study on food allergies and children. The federal study, called “Food Allergy Among U.S. Children: Trends in Prevalence and Hospitalizations,” is very extensive.

Here are a few of the highlights:
- Four out of every 100 children have a food allergy. That’s about 3 million kids!

- There has been an 18% increase in children with food allergies since 1997 with 1 in 26 children having food allergies.

- The number of children hospitalized for food allergies jumped from 2,600 in the late 1990s to 9,500 annually in the most recent years.

And to see all of the key findings, click here.

Also, here is a great Washington Post blog entry on this topic. It provides real life issues and examples that allergy parents face.

As we always say, be careful with allergies! Keep a watchful eye and make sure everyone around your allergy prone child is just as vigilant.

Be well,
Dr. Y

As an allergy parent, it’s hard not to be concerned about how that allergy is limiting your child. I recently came across an article about a study that was presented at this year’s American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology annual meeting.

According to the study, 40% of allergy parents said their child’s allergies interfere a lot or somewhat with his/her sleep and 21% of allergy parents indicated that allergies interfere with their child’s activities. For the entire article, click here.

If your child has food allergies, you definitely do need to be vigilant about avoiding certain foods. But, as long as you are careful, your child should be able to participate in many of the same activities as other kids her age. She may not be able to eat ice cream and corn dogs at the beach, but it doesn’t mean she can’t make a sand castle.

Of course, like we always say, go into every situation prepared. Bring safe snacks for your child and make sure her epinephrine is always on hand in case of an emergency.

- Sarah

We’re always keeping our eyes peeled and our ears tuned for new news on eosinophilic esophagitis (also EoE or EE). This matters to us because many children with EoE  use Neocate products, as part of their special, healthy diet.


The Study

Dr. Charles DeBrosse and Dr. James Franciosi at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, where there is a Center for Eosinophilic Disorders, recently published a new research study about the long-term effects of EoE.  If you’re interested in reading the study here are links to the study abstract as well as a great summary.


The Results

The research team looked at over 100 patients with esophagitis; some had EoE, while others had chronic esophagitis, and compared them to patients who had no esophagitis. On average, this was about 15 years after the patients developed esophagitis. EoE research was in its early stages back then, and many patients went undiagnosed or were misdiagnosed. The participants answered questions about their symptoms and quality of life. The researchers then compared the results of each of the groups to see what differences really stood out.

Patients with EoE reported a lower quality of life and experienced more trouble swallowing and had food become stuck in their esophagus more often. Those patients with higher eosinophil counts in childhood had more trouble swallowing as adults. Also, patients with a diagnosed food allergy were more likely to have trouble swallowing and to have food become stuck in their esophagus.


The Bottom Line

As the researchers concluded, EoE “is associated with reduced quality of life and persistent symptoms 15 years after presentation.” They also noted that both increased eosinophil counts and the presence of food allergy in childhood increase the rate of trouble swallowing in young adulthood. It doesn’t sound very positive, but it’s what many of us expected: there is a strong link between food allergies and symptoms among patients with EoE, and high eosinophil levels can have a lasting impact.


What Can We Take Away from This?

Sure, the results and conclusion don’t sound great at first, but there are a few things to keep in mind. For one, a HUGE amount of research has been conducted on EoE in the last 15 years, and we’ve learned a lot! Patients who had EoE 15 years ago had a much different experience than patients with EoE today have. For instance, the way that EoE is diagnosed and treated has improved in that time. Also, many more of today’s health care teams can recognize, diagnose, and treat EoE, which is more widely known. And many teams also include allergy testing as part of the care process for EoE.

There are also options for managing EoE that are now in wide use. For instance, elimination diets and elemental diets (which we’ll blog about in a few weeks – stay tuned) have come a long way. Elemental diets (or amino acid-based formulas) can be especially helpful in getting EoE under control and are useful in diagnostic phases. These formulas can help improve trouble swallowing when EoE isn’t under control, which can mean better outcomes. They can also provide key nutrients when added to a very limited diet.

Children on elemental diets have lots of options these days in the Neocate family of products. We have Neocate Junior, which is available in several flavors. We also have E028 Splash, which not only comes in multiple flavors, but is also in drink box form, so it’s just as ready-to-go as your child! And for children who miss solid textures on an elemental diet, Neocate Nutra can provide a change of scenery, especially prepared in one of our recipes.


What did you learn from the new research that was published in June?

- Rob 


[Photo: Microsoft Images]