title: Oral and sublingual immunotherapy for food allergy.
abstract: IgE-mediated food allergy is a potentially life-threatening allergic disease with an increase in prevalence in developed countries over the past 15 years. Currently, there are no approved forms of therapy and the standard of care is dietary restriction and ready access to emergency medications, such as self-injectable epinephrine and antihistamines. Allergen-specific modalities of treatment currently being studied include oral immunotherapy (OIT) and sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT). Both forms demonstrate the ability to desensitize patients to a variety of specific food allergens and show great promise. However, more research is needed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of OIT and SLIT prior to routine use in clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill NC 260 MacNider Hall, CB 7220, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7220 USA.
authors.forename: Uyenphuong H
authors.initials: UH
authors.lastname: Le
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill NC 260 MacNider Hall, CB 7220, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7220 USA.
authors.forename: A Wesley
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Burks
keywords: Desensitization; Food allergy; Oral immunotherapy; Sublingual immunotherapy; Tolerance