Active clinical trials for "Food Hypersensitivity"

The number of young children with food allergy, in particular with nut allergy, is increasing worldwide. A diagnosis of nut allergy can cause much anxiety in parents. They worry about their child being exposed to nuts in foods when outside the home. This anxiety can lead to these young children being restricted from taking part in normal childhood activities. Last year, the investigators conducted a study Recording accidental allergic reactions in children's and teenagers (ReAACT) in which they surveyed over 500 children with food allergy attending our clinic, in order to learn more about their participation in social activities and their practices in relation to eating outside the home. In the present study, the investigators wish to build upon these results through using the findings to develop a programme to help to lessen the fear and anxiety experienced by parents of young children with newly diagnosed nut allergy. The investigators imagine that knowledge of how other families with children who have food allergy participate in activities involving food outside of the home might help newly diagnosed families. The investigators would like to know if parents of young children newly diagnosed with nut allergy would benefit from hearing this information. In order to do this, the investigators have developed a short online programme that parents can take part in, in their own homes. Content will focus on the day to day social activities of children with food allergy, based on the findings of the REAACT study. To help the investigators to measure the effectiveness of this programme on reducing anxiety and improving quality of life, they are asking all volunteer participants to complete 4 questionnaires. Two of these questionnaires will ask a parent to indicate 1) the impact of their child's nut allergy on their quality of life and 2) on their child's quality of life. The third questionnaire will ask about their level of anxiety. The fourth questionnaire will ask about their emotions and the coping strategies they use in the context of their child's food allergy. Participants will be randomized into 2 groups. Group 1 will take part in the online education session along with the usual education provided by the allergy team. The questionnaires will be completed online using only a study identifier number. This will ensure anonymity throughout the study. The only personal information that will be asked is parent's age group, whether they are a mother or father, their child's age and gender and whether they have any other allergies. Two weeks following the online educational session, Groups 1 and 2 will again complete the online questionnaires. The research question is to determine if the online educational session is effective at decreasing anxiety and improving quality of life in parents of young children with nut allergy. The outcomes are health related quality of life and level of anxiety. It is hoped that the findings will positively support parents, children and their families in Ireland who are living and managing nut allergy on a daily basis.

Objective: This Phase II STTR grant incorporated user feedback collected in an earlier development project to build interactive, web-based software that helps children with food allergies learn about their condition and gain self-management skills. This highly interactive game allows children to progress through virtual scenes to help them learn about food avoidance, symptom detection, and reaction management. In addition, this project built gaming complexity, with more levels and game options, of the two interactive games "Label Learning: Like it or Lose it!" and "Reaction Action!." Research Procedures: The researchers elicited input from 8 families of children (ages 8-12) with food allergies and their parents by presenting some of preliminary intervention materials (e.g., storyboards of a child in a family gathering involving food) in a focus group format. After that, up to 40 families of children with food allergies (ages 8-12) were recruited to participate in an "open trial". Families were asked to use the software for two weeks and provide feedback on the software. Up to 100 families of children with food allergies (ages 8-12) were then recruited to participate in a Randomized Clinical Trial (RCT) to assess the efficacy of the F3A-App vs. Standard Care (brief office visit and educational handouts). Families in the clinical trial were asked to use the software for two weeks and complete a standard care allergy office visit. This design enabled the investigators to evaluate combined effects of Standard Care and the F3A-App through typical treatment channels (e.g., is the greatest efficacy found after a physician refers family to use the App after an office visit?). Gains in families' knowledge and confidence in food allergy management were evaluated, and interviews with families were conducted to gain further input regarding the software's credibility, usability, and acceptability. This entry describes only the RCT portion of this Phase II STTR project.

Food allergies are becoming more prevalent with more children being diagnosed with food allergies each year. Food allergies place a tremendous burden not just on the patient but on his/her family as well. In an attempt to provide better care to the investigators patients, the investigators would like to determine if regular contact with our food allergy nurse has a positive effect on a family's perceived quality of life.

Background: Limited published evidence shows specific oral tolerance induction (SOTI) to be a potential intervention option for cow's milk proteins (CMPs) allergy. Our hypothesis is that SOTI should be started early in order to improve its efficacy and prevent CMPs sensitization from evolving towards persistent allergy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of SOTI in 2-year-old children with cow's milk allergy, as a treatment alternative to elimination diet. Methods: A total of 60 children between 24-36 months of age with IgE-mediated allergy to CMPs were included in this multicenter study and were randomly divided into two different groups. Thirty children (group A: treatment group) began SOTI immediately, whereas the remaining 30 (group B: control group) were kept on a milk-free diet and followed-up on for one year.

The objective of this research is to evaluate the effectiveness of a handbook for parents of children newly diagnosed with food allergy. The handbook was developed to provide information and strategies to support families in effectively managing food allergies while maintaining positive quality of life. Parents of children newly diagnosed with food allergy (within the past year) will be randomized into either the treatment condition (handbook) or a control condition (management of food allergy as usual). Participants will complete study questionnaires online at three time points: baseline (this will be before receiving the handbook for the treatment group), post-intervention (2-3 weeks after baseline), and follow-up (2-3 months after baseline). Data will be analyzed for change on study outcome measures and satisfaction with the handbook. Parents in the control group will receive the handbook following the conclusion of their participation in the study.

Patients with history of a food allergy to hazelnut, walnut or celeriac will undergo food provocation with a dose of the allergenic food to which 5% of the respective food allergic population (ED05) has been calculated to respond with allergic reactions (single shot study). In patients with a hazelnut or peanut allergy a double-blind placebo controlled food challenge with cookies containing either placebo or hazelnut and peanut respectively will be performed to determine threshold levels eliciting an allergic reaction. The results for threshold levels determined by cookie matrix will be compared to the results gained from the EuroPrevall project (matrix comparison study). In patients with a walnut allergy double-blind placebo controlled provocation with walnut will be combined with the intake of proton pump inhibitor (PPI) or with placebo to assess the impact of PPI on the threshold level and on the clinical manifestation.

The outcomes of oral immunotherapy (OIT) in food allergy study will provide more knowledge of oral immunotherapy. So far the OIT has showed in clinical experiments to be a interesting way to increase the unresponsiveness in severe food allergies. However little is known about it´s long-term outcomes, immunological mechanisms and there are no previous studies about cost-utility of OIT.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the dose of a probiotic supplement (Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis) required to achieve predominant gut colonization in healthy newborn, breastfed infants. The study will also examine whether supplementation with this probiotic can reduce the chance of developing eczema and food allergies in enrolled infants.

The purpose of this study is testing the use E-B-FAHF-2 Chinese herbal therapy in combination with multi-food oral immunotherapy (OIT) and Xolair® (Omalizumab) to help children and adults who are allergic to foods be able to safely tolerate food allergens. Specifically in this protocol, the food allergens are milk, egg, peanut, almond, cashew, hazelnut, walnut, sesame, and/or wheat. Omalizumab is considered an investigational drug for the treatment of food allergies in children and adults. Investigational means it has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in the U.S. The researchers hope to learn whether the addition of Chinese herbal therapy (E-B-FAHF-2) can improve the outcome of sustained unresponsiveness (which is the ability to consume a food allergen and pass an oral food challenge after being off treatment for 3 months) as compared to placebo (i.e. subjects with OIT/Omalizumab + herbal vs. OIT/Omalizumab + placebo), and will help adults and children be able to safely ingest the foods they are allergic to.

The goal of the study is to determine accurate blood test levels that can predict whether or not subjects are truly allergic to certain foods. In this study, subjects that are clinically documented to be wheat-allergic will participate in a double blind oral food challenge. Blood will be collected from the subject to evaluate the potential allergenicity of proteins introduced into genetically modified crops and evaluate wheat-specific immunoglobulin-e (IgE) antibody reactivity to biotech and conventional wheat varieties.