title: IgE-mediated food allergy in children.
abstract: Food allergy is a serious health issue affecting roughly 4% of children, with a substantial effect on quality of life. Prognosis is good for the most frequent allergens with almost all children outgrowing their allergy. However, the long-term implications for disease burden are substantial for children with persistent allergies (eg, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, and shellfish) and for those with high concentrations of milk, egg, and wheat IgE. Antigen avoidance has been the time-honoured approach both for prevention and treatment. However, findings from studies done in the past 5 years show that early contact with food can induce tolerance and desensitisation to foods. We review the epidemiology, natural history, and management of food allergy, and discuss the areas of controversy and future directions in research and clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Maternal and Child Health, IRCCS Burlo Garofolo, Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Longo
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Berti
authors.forename: A Wesley
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Burks
authors.forename: Baruch
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Krauss
authors.forename: Egidio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Barbi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000818:Animals; D001942:Breast Feeding; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003888:Desensitization, Immunologic / Q000379:methods*; D004032:Diet; D021181:Egg Hypersensitivity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy; D004837:Epinephrine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005512:Food Hypersensitivity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy; D006633:Histamine Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000276:immunology*; D007223:Infant; D016269:Milk Hypersensitivity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy; D009754:Nuts / Q000009:adverse effects; D021183:Peanut Hypersensitivity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy; D017747:Seafood / Q000009:adverse effects; D012882:Skin Tests; D021182:Wheat Hypersensitivity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy
chemical_list: D006633:Histamine Antagonists; D007073:Immunoglobulin E; D004837:Epinephrine