Food allergy research

Department of Food Science and Technology, Food Allergy Research and Resource Program, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 68583-0919... 

FIGURE 4.1 Percent identity matrix for tropomyosins from molluscan shellfish, crustacean shellfish, insects and mites, and vertebrate sources. Compiled with the assistance of John C. Wise, Bioinformatics Specialist, University of Nebraska, Food Allergy Research Resource Program. 

This research was conducted with a contribution of the University of Nebraska Agricultural Research Division, supported in part by funds provided through United States Department of Agriculture. Additional support was provided by the Food Allergy Research and Resource Program. Mention of a trade name, proprietary products, or company name is for presentation clarity and does not imply endorsement by the authors of the University of Nebraska. 

Occasionally also the dog is used for food allergy research (Paterson, 1995 Jeffers et al., 1996 Buchanan et al., 1997 Ermel et al., 1997 Buchanan and Frick, 2002 Teuber et al., 2002 Jackson et al., 2003). In these studies, a colony of spaniel/basenji-type dogs with a genetic predisposition to allergy that had histories of sensitivity... 

Mechanistic and Therapeutic Animal Models for Food Allergy Research... 

The probability of occurrence of sudden death due to the food anaphylaxis has been calculated over 10 years retrospective research at 0.06 deaths in 1,000,000 in children aged 0-15 per year based on results of 10 years retrospective studies. The most frequent allergen was cow s milk accounting for approximately 50% of deaths. Also, severe anaphylactic reactions were observed following the consumption of nuts. That estimated probability of death occurrence is 1 in 800,000 children per year, assuming that 5% of the population exhibits symptoms of food allergy (Macdougall et al., 2002). 

Therefore, it is assumed that in near future it will become possible to diagnose the probability of asthma or other diseases of allergic origin, e.g., food allergies, in appropriately equipped clinical laboratories, also by means of screening all SNP and transcriptome information related to the diseases. Nowadays, however, despite extensive research, even the most risky SNP combination related to asthma has only a twofold odds ratio with controls and most SNP research papers deal only with statistical probability (Saito et al., 2003). 

With contributions from an international team of research specialists, the book explains the basic mechanisms of allergenic reactions in humans, the molecular background of these mechanisms, and the problems of food tolerance and intolerance. It also discusses the issues related to common treatments of food allergies and the narrow groups into which they are categorized. 

A growing number of families must live and cope with food allergy on a day to day basis, socio-emotional impact of food allergy on children, and adolescents has been little researched to date (DunnGalvin et al., 2007). Although researchers in the field of food allergy have stated that the scarcity in psychological and social literature on the experience of... 

Although it appears that food allergy leads to intrapersonal (e.g., anxiety) and interpersonal (e.g., social restrictions) problems in adaptation, there has been little research into the socio-emotional impact of food allergy on psychological and social functioning. Indeed, in most studies on chronic diseases, usually psychological maladjustment factors such as behavior problems or depression are studied, but social maladjustment factors, such as social anxiety or social skills, have rarely been included (Meijer et al, 2002). 

The diverse findings may occur because social support needs differ as a function of the particular disease. However, given the sparse literature on support in chronic disease in children in general, and food allergy in particular, further research is needed to examine the relative importance of different sources and types of support on the adjustment of children. For example, in a recent qualitative study into children s, teens, and parents perceptions of living with food allergy (DunnGalvin et ah, 2009),... 

All these studies represent outcomes, but, there has been little, if any, research in allergic diseases in general and food allergy in particular, into the developmental pathways that lead to these observable consequences. 

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