title: 9. Food allergy.
abstract: Food allergy, defined as an adverse immune response to food proteins, affects as many as 6% of young children and 3% to 4% of adults. Food-induced allergic reactions are responsible for a variety of symptoms involving the skin, gastrointestinal tract, and respiratory tract and might be caused by IgE-mediated and non-IgE-mediated (cellular) mechanisms. Our understanding of how food allergy represents an abrogation of normal oral tolerance is evolving. Although any food can provoke a reaction, relatively few foods are responsible for the vast majority of significant food-induced allergic reactions: milk, egg, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, and shellfish. A systematic approach to diagnosis includes a careful history, followed by laboratory studies, elimination diets, and often food challenges to confirm a diagnosis. Many food allergens have been characterized at a molecular level, which has increased our understanding of the immunopathogenesis of food allergy and might soon lead to novel diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. Currently, management of food allergies consists of educating the patient to avoid ingesting the responsible allergen and to initiate therapy in case of an unintended ingestion.
authors.affiliation: The Elliot and Roslyn Jaffe Food Allergy Institute, Division of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Pediatrics, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, One Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY 10029-6574, USA. scott.sicherer@mssm.edu
authors.forename: Scott H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Sicherer
authors.forename: Hugh A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Sampson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000485:Allergens / Q000009:adverse effects; D000707:Anaphylaxis / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004044:Dietary Proteins / Q000009:adverse effects; D005512:Food Hypersensitivity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D010353:Patient Education as Topic
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens; D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents; D004044:Dietary Proteins