AN OBSERVATIONAL STUDY OF FOOD ALLERGY

这个子项目是许多研究子项目中利用 资源由NIH/NCRR资助的中心拨款提供。子项目和 调查员(PI)可能从NIH的另一个来源获得了主要资金， 并因此可以在其他清晰的条目中表示。列出的机构是 该中心不一定是调查人员的机构。 食物过敏被定义为由免疫机制引起的对食物蛋白质的不良反应，目前估计有1100多万美国人受到影响。在美国，这种疾病影响着大约6%的儿童和3.5%的成年人，尽管努力通过饮食手段进行预防，但患病率似乎仍在上升。花生过敏现在影响0.8%的幼儿，通常是严重的，有时是致命的，与牛奶和鸡蛋过敏相比，更有可能持续下去。之前的研究表明，花生过敏是一种遗传性疾病，但很明显，环境影响导致美国和英国幼儿花生过敏症的发病率翻了一番，最近有证据表明，这一点令人震惊。食物过敏性疾病的特征是产生食物特异性的IgE抗体，这种抗体代表Th2影响的免疫反应的最终结果。对食物过敏发展过程中涉及的机制只有有限的了解。为了有效地预防或逆转食物过敏的进展，将需要免疫干预。此外，成功的策略可能需要针对那些具有可识别风险的人(例如，具有与花生过敏发展相关的生物标记物的人)。这项观察性研究将在一组牛奶或鸡蛋过敏的儿童中调查花生、鸡蛋和牛奶过敏的发育免疫学，这些儿童有花生过敏的风险。在此期间，我们预测大约20%的人会出现临床花生过敏，25%-50%的人会经历鸡蛋或牛奶过敏的缓解。这一策略应该使我们能够描绘、比较和对比与花生过敏发展以及鸡蛋和牛奶过敏丧失相关的生物标志物和免疫学变化，同时评估可能解释这些过敏最近令人震惊的上升的重要临床和环境影响(例如，卫生假说)。这项观察性研究的结果，与食物过敏研究联盟相关项目中的发现相结合，应构成改进预防和治疗策略的基础。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Food allergy is defined as an adverse reaction to food proteins caused by immunologic mechanisms, and is now estimated to affect over 11 million Americans. The disorder affects approximately 6% of children and 3.5% of adults in the United States and appears to be increasing in prevalence despite efforts at prevention through dietary means. Peanut allergy now affects 0.8% of young children, is often severe, sometimes fatal and, in contrast to milk and egg allergy, is more likely to persist. Previous studies have shown that peanut allergy is a hereditary disorder, but it is clear that environmental influences account for the startling, recently documented, doubling in the incidence of peanut allergy in young children in the US and the UK. The hallmark of food-allergic disease is the production of food-specific IgE antibodies that represent an end result of a Th2 influenced immune response. There is only a limited understanding of the mechanisms involved in the developmental course of food allergies. To effectively prevent or reverse the progression of food allergy, immune interventions will be needed. Furthermore, it is likely that successful strategies will need to be directed to those persons at identifiable risk (e.g., who have biomarkers associated with development of peanut allergy). This observational study will investigate the developmental immunology of peanut, egg and milk allergy in a cohort of milk or egg allergic children who are at risk for peanut allergy. During this time we predict that approximately 20% will develop clinical peanut allergy and 25-50% will experience resolution of egg or milk allergy. This strategy should enable us to delineate, compare and contrast biological markers and immunologic changes associated with the development of peanut allergy and loss of egg and milk allergy while simultaneously evaluating important clinical and environmental influences likely to account for the recent alarming rise in these allergies (e.g., the hygiene hypothesis). The results of this observational study, in combination with discoveries in the associated projects of the Consortium of Food Allergy Research, should form a basis for improved prevention and treatment strategies.