As a follow up to our previous post, the NBC Nightly News aired a story on food allergies on Sunday May 8, 2011. The first is the link to the original story and the other two links are to web only segments.
http://www.aascare.com/
Monday, May 9, 2011
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Food Allergies
These days, most everyone knows someone with a food allergy, defined as an abnormal immune response to a food. This is not surprising, as the prevalence of food allergies seems to be increasing. A recent abstract (Dr. Warrier, one of co-authors of this publication, practices at the Allergy, Asthma & Sinus Care Center in St. Louis) presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology in San Francisco on March 19, 2011, reported that food allergies affect 8% of children (Gupta RS, Springston EE, Warrier M, Smith B, Kumar R, Wang X, Joll J, Pongracic J. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2011; 127:SAB33). This is on the upper end of previous estimates. Food allergies are a significant problem, not only for those individuals who are affected, but also for their friends and family. One good resource (among several) for information on food allergies is a website from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases: http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/foodallergy/Pages/default.aspx
"The Prevalence of Childhood Food Allergy in the United States."
If you are looking for a board certified adult and pediatric allergy/asthma specialist in St. Louis, Missouri, schedule an appointment with one of our physicians at the Allergy, Asthma & Sinus Care Center. More information is available on our website: http://www.aascare.com/
"The Prevalence of Childhood Food Allergy in the United States."
RATIONALE: The heterogeneity of available data on childhood food allergy
(FA) necessitates further study.
METHODS: Apopulation-based cross-sectional survey was administered from June 2009-February 2010 to determine the prevalence of childhood FA. Eligible participants were >18 years residing in a U.S. household
with children and able to complete the survey in Spanish/English. Primary outcome measures included report and severity of current FA. Report of FA was categorized as perceived (participant report), probable (participant report/consistent reaction history), or confirmed (participant report of physician diagnosis/test history and consistent reaction history). Probable/confirmed FA were further categorized as mild/moderate or severe based on reaction history. Data were weighted using study-specific post-stratification benchmarks to adjust for sample design and nonresponse. Data were analyzed to estimate the prevalence of perceived, probable and confirmed FA.
RESULTS: Data were analyzed for 38,480 children, with demographic characteristics representative of the U.S. population. FA was reported for 9.92% of children (95%CI59.56-10.28), with 1.96% perceived (95% CI51.81-2.13), 4.76% probable (95%CI54.51-5.02), and 3.20% confirmed
(95%CI53.00-3.42). Prevalence by allergen varied by age. 3.08% of all children reported a probable or confirmed food allergy subsequently categorized as severe (95%CI52.88-3.30). Reaction severity varied by allergenic
food. Odds of confirmed vs. no food allergy was significantly associated with race, age, income, and geographic region. In a model of confirmed vs. probable food allergy, only race and income remained
significant.
CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest the extent of childhood food allergy is greater than previously reported. Disparities were observed in both the pathophysiology of disease and in current clinical practices.
New guidelines for the diagnosis and management of food allergies were released earlier this year. What's in it for people who are affected by food allergies? Check out this link:
If you are looking for a board certified adult and pediatric allergy/asthma specialist in St. Louis, Missouri, schedule an appointment with one of our physicians at the Allergy, Asthma & Sinus Care Center. More information is available on our website: http://www.aascare.com/
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Allergen Immunotherapy (Allergy Shots)- still working after 100 years
"Immunotherapy treatment (allergy shots) is based on a century-old concept that the immune system can be desensitized to specific allergens that trigger allergy symptoms. These symptoms may be caused by allergic respiratory conditions such as allergic rhinitis (hay fever) and asthma. While common allergy medications often control symptoms; if you stop taking the medication(s), your allergy symptoms return shortly afterward. Allergy shots can potentially lead to lasting remission of allergy symptoms, and it may play a preventive role in terms of development of asthma and new allergies.
The Process
Treatment involves injecting the allergen(s), causing the allergy symptoms. These allergens are identified by a combination of a medical evaluation performed by a trained allergist/immunologist and allergy skin or allergy blood tests.
The treatment begins with a build-up phase. Injections containing increasing amounts of the allergens are given 1 to 2 times a week until the target dose is reached. This target dose varies from person to person. The target dose may be reached in 3 to 6 months with a conventional schedule (one dose increase per visit) but may be achieved in shorter period of time with less visits with accelerated schedules such as cluster that administers 2-3 dose increases per visit. The maintenance phase begins when the target dose is reached. Once the maintenance dose is reached, the time between the allergy injections can be increased and generally range from every 2 to every 4 weeks. Maintenance immunotherapy treatment is generally continued for 3 to 5 years. Some people have lasting remission of their allergy symptoms but others may relapse after discontinuing immunotherapy, so the duration of allergen immunotherapy varies from person to person.
Risks involved with the immunotherapy approach are rare, but may include serious lifethreatening anaphylaxis. For that reason, immunotherapy should only be given under the supervision of a physician or qualified physician extender (nurse practitioner or physician assistant) in a facility equipped with proper staff and equipment to identify and treat adverse reactions to allergy injections.
The decision to begin immunotherapy will be based on several factors:
- Length of allergy season and severity of symptoms
- How well medications and avoiding allergens control allergy symptoms
- Desire to avoid long-term medication use
- Time. Immunotherapy will require a significant time commitment during the build-up
- phase, and a less frequent commitment during the maintenance phase
- Costs may vary depending on region and insurance coverage. Yet, allergy shots can
- be a cost-effective approach to managing allergy symptoms.
In 1911, both allergen immunotherapy and the electrical ignition system for cars were introduced. Although unrelated, these events share a common outcome. One paved the way for advances in transportation, the other led to advances in the treatment of allergies. The earliest published successes for allergen immunotherapy were based on the work of two English scientists, Leonard Noon and John Freeman. Recognizing that pollen was the cause of hay fever, these scientists thought that they could induce immunity and tolerance by injecting hay fever patients with the pollen to which they were allergic. This idea was based on the positive results of vaccines that produced protection against infectious disease such as small pox. Over the years, we’ve learned much more about allergen immunotherapy including long-term benefits and what protocols are needed to make it very beneficial. Among the most important findings are that immunotherapy can provide long-term symptom relief for years after treatment is discontinued, and that it is a cost-effective approach to treating many allergies.
Research has demonstrated that allergy immunotherapy can be effective in treating:Allergic asthma
Allergic rhinitis and conjunctivitis
Stinging insect allergy
Atopic dermatitis
New frontierCurrently, immunotherapy for food allergies is not recommended and strict avoidance of the food is advised although investigations with oral desensitization for food allergies are in progress in the United States."
The information above is from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology http://www.aaaai.org/
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