Active clinical trials for "Food Hypersensitivity"

Eosinophilic esophagitis is characterized by an eosinophilic infiltration of the esophagus. It presents clinically with a variety of symptoms including dysphagia, emesis, and food impaction. Although the underlying mechanism is different, gastroesophageal reflux can present with similar clinical findings but can be distinguished from eosinophilic esophagitis by the number of eosinophils present on esophageal biopsy. In children, food allergies play a role in exacerbating eosinophilic esophagitis, but the role of food allergies in adults is uncertain. In this study, we aim to determine the prevalence of food allergies in a cohort of adults with eosinophilic esophagitis.

Food allergy is on the rise within the pediatric population. Having food allergy can cause medical, nutritional and psychological issues in those who suffer with it. Although making the appropriate diagnosis of food allergy is very important, properly diagnosing food allergy has been a challenge. Skin prick testing and food-specific IgE testing of the blood can give positive results that are false. Currently, Oral Food Challenges are the best way to diagnose a food allergy. Unfortunately, Oral Food Challenges are time consuming and may not be readily available to suspected food allergy sufferers. This study is designed to examine the effectiveness of an allergy-detecting blood test called IMMULITE 2000 manufactured by the study sponsor, Siemens.

Anaphylaxis is a severe and potentially life threatening allergic reaction which can affect the airway, breathing and/or circulation. This reaction can be triggered by a number of different allergens but the most common are food, medications, insect venom and latex. Because these reactions occur suddenly and are potentially very serious, the best management lies in the correct use of the prescribed emergency medication. Epinephrine, or adrenaline as it is more commonly known, is the recommended drug for the treatment of anaphylaxis. Injecting the epinephrine into the outer thigh muscle is the preferred route of administration. For health professionals, patients and carers, this rapid administration is facilitated by the manufacture of preloaded syringes and autoinjectors. Despite the availability of these devices, a review of studies shows poor knowledge and skills amongst both health professionals and patients with regards to using autoinjectable epinephrine devices correctly. These studies found that as well as poor knowledge in using the autoinjectors, there was a lack of confidence amongst patients and an unwillingness to carry the device with them at all times. In other disease groups like asthma and diabetes, psychological models which involve asking people how they think about their illness and their related behaviours, have been found to help in the understanding of why some people follow or adhere to health professionals advice and why others do not. Based on these findings, this study will look at two appropriate psychological models and their ability to predict variation in adherence to self-care regimens in adolescents and young adults with food allergy related anaphylaxis.

An increasing number of people have an allergy to birch pollen, which manifests itself as Springtime hayfever. Some will also have cross-reactions to fruits, vegetables and nuts, a condition known as Oral Allergy Syndrome (OAS). Research has demonstrated that the most effective method of diagnosing this problem is by taking a good clinical history and performing skin prick tests using fresh foods. The aim of the study will be therefore to investigate the prevalence of OAS in a birch-sensitive population using a simple screening tool and establish the range of foods involved. The objective will be to maximise effective treatment for the patients in our large respiratory allergy clinic by using the screening tool to identify patients with OAS and advise them on the usual foods involved. A further objective will be to use the data to discover if there are any patterns of particular foods involved in OAS in UK sufferers. The study hypotheses are therefore that there is a high prevalence of oral allergy in people with birch pollen allergy; the best way of diagnosing the problem is by using a screening tool and that there is a core set of foods that are commonly involved in OAS in patients seen in the allergy clinic.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the endoscopic diagnostic options of the endomicroscopy in patients with food intolerance.

Food allergies account for only a small percentage of all adverse reactions to foods and their prevalence has increased over the past 10-15 years, particularly in industrialized countries: 3-6% of children under 3 years of age and 1-3% of adults. Food allergens in children are represented by milk, egg, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, and shellfish. The majority of allergic processes that develop during the childhood tend to abate with age, whereas those that occur during adulthood tend to persist. Hypersensitivity refers to an excessive immunological reaction to food antigens with undesirable consequences. The first aim of our study is to evaluate the role of intestinal microbiota and their relationship with immune tolerance or allergic disorder. The second aim of our study is determining the biochemical metabolites on the host (human being) in allergic disorder, and these biochemical metabolites can be measured in fecal or urine samples by metabolomics methods. We try to seek to gain an advanced understanding of gut microbiota and biochemical metabolites associated with mucosal immune responses in the host. These findings could be useful for developing strategies to modify the gut microbiota or medical applications (e.g. healthy microbe preparations) involving beneficial microorganisms to control the development of allergic disorders.

Aim To assess the possible food allergy-preventive benefit of using whole cell pertussis(wP) vaccination compared with acelluar pertussis vaccine(aP) for whooping cough vaccination in childhood. Background Whooping cough, caused by the bacteria, Bordetella pertussis, represents a significant public health burden in Australia and around the world. Acellular pertussis vaccination (aP) replaced whole cell vaccination against pertussis (wP) in the late 1990s. This replacement coincides temporally in an observed rapid rise in the occurrence of severe food allergy responses. Previous research has suggested that acellular pertussis vaccination results in the development of immunity that may predispose children to allergic responses. A retrospective case-controlled trial design, targeting cases of previously diagnosed allergy, and comparing case vaccination history to that of the whole population, is a powerful means of assessing the association between immunisation and allergy. Participant Groups 1000 allergy cases, 10,000 controls Project Design This is a retrospective individually-matched case-control study of Australian children born during the period of transition from use of wP vaccines to aP vaccines (year of birth 1997-1999 inclusive) and who are registered on the Australian Children Immunisation Register. Cases will be drawn from allergy clinics associated with tertiary teaching hospitals around Australia. Methods Cases: will be retrospectively identified from patient lists from allergy clinics around Australia, born during the period of pertussis vaccine changeover, and be confirmed to have IgE-mediated food allergy on the basis of 1) a documented history of consistent clinical symptoms following ingestion of an implicated food, and 2) evidence of sensitisation to that food via laboratory testing. Controls: Controls will be sampled from a de-identified database of children born during the transition from wP to aP vaccination appearing on the ACIR. Cases and controls will be matched by date of birth (+/-7 days), jurisdiction and socioeconomic decile. Expected outcomes: Following the study, investigators will be able determine if there is an association between the type of vaccination received and development of IgE mediated food allergy. If whole cell vaccination is found to have a protective association against the development of allergy, this will have profound impact on health policy in Australia and around the world.

This study aims to conduct an initial evaluation of whether online self-help can improve the quality of life of parents of children with food allergies.

The number of studies concerning health related quality of life (HRQL) in children with food allergy is very limited. Only one study to date has compared HRQL of a group of children with food allergy to data published on general population and other chronic diseases. This study concluded to lowest HRQL scores in food allergic children compared to type 1 diabetes mellitus with important impact on scores concerning social activities.

The Polish Mother and Child Cohort is multicentre prospective study on different exposures. Prospective cohort study design enables identification of exposures that may influence pregnancy outcome and chil-dren's health, verification of such exposures by biomarker measurements and notification of any changes in exposure levels. The aim of the study is to evaluate the impact of exposure to different environmental factors during pregnancy and after birth on pregnancy outcome and children's health. Specific research hypotheses refer to the role of heavy metals, exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocar-bons (PAHs) and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) in the aetiology of intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR), preterm delivery (PD) and the risk of respiratory diseases, allergy and poor mental and physical development. It is also intended to explain the role of oxidative stress and nutritional status of the pregnant women. The impact of occupational exposures and stressful situations on pregnancy outcome will be evaluated from question-naire data. The results of the study will help to determine levels of child prenatal and postnatal exposure in several areas of Poland and their im-pact on course and outcome of pregnancy and children's health. This protocol concerns the children that are followed-up from birth to the age of 2 years to determine long term effects of pre- and postnatal environmental exposures.