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Cord blood T cells (CBTC) from a proportion of newborns express low/deficient levels of some protein kinase C (PKC) isozymes, with low levels of PKCζ correlating with increased risk of developing allergy and associated decrease in interferon‐gamma (IFN‐γ) producing T cells.
Nutrition is a modifiable lifestyle factor that may play a role in allergic disease prevention. This article summarizes current evidence on the antenatal diet as a consideration for strategies to prevent child food allergy. As eczema in early infancy substantially increases the risk of food allergy development, the effects of maternal dietary intakes during pregnancy on infant eczema outcomes will also be discussed.
Evidence suggests that children who had received an initial priming dose of whole-cell pertussis (wP) vaccine, rather than acellular pertussis (aP) vaccine, had a lower risk of developing IgE-mediated food allergy, the most common cause of anaphylaxis-related hospital presentations of childhood.
Environmental exposure to phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA), chemicals used in the production of plastics, may increase risk for asthma and allergies. However, little is known about the long-term effects of early life exposure to these compounds.
The way the immune system operates differs between males and females. This is due to both differential expression of immune-related genes from the sex chromosomes as well as the immune modulatory properties of sex hormones. Together, these effects contribute to a skewed prevalence of disease and disease course between males and females, including allergic-, infectious-, autoimmune-, and cancerous disease.
Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is the most commonly administered vaccine in human history. The medical application of BCG extends far beyond the fight against tuberculosis. Despite its stellar medical record over 100 years, insight into how BCG provides this vast range of benefits is largely limited, both for its pathogen-specific (tuberculosis) as well as pathogen-agnostic (other infections, autoimmunity, allergies, and cancer) effects.
No approved treatment for peanut allergy exists for children younger than 4 years of age, and the efficacy and safety of epicutaneous immunotherapy with a peanut patch in toddlers with peanut allergy are unknown.
Mothers eating a diet rich in peanuts while breastfeeding might be helping to reduce their baby’s risk of developing a peanut allergy – that’s the hypothesis of a new clinical trial that has been granted $2.29 million in funding by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).
The pivotal phase 3 EPITOPE trial, a 12-month, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of epicutaneous immunotherapy with the VIASKIN patch containing 250 μg of peanut protein (VP250), previously reported significant treatment response versus placebo in peanut-allergic toddlers aged 1 through 3 years.
Few studies have examined long-term outcomes following oral immunotherapy; none have examined long-term risks and benefits associated with distinct clinical outcomes (desensitization, remission).