title: Is there a role of food additives in recurrent aphthous stomatitis? A prospective study with patch testing.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) is a common disease of the oral mucosa with an unknown etiology. This study aimed to determine if food additives play a role in the etiology of RAS as well as to determine if patch testing can be used to detect which allergens cause RAS.
  
  
  METHODS
  This prospective study included 24 patients with RAS and 22 healthy controls. All the participants underwent patch testing for 23 food additives.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total, 21 (87.5%) RAS patients and 3 (13.6%) controls had positive patch test reactions to ≥1 allergens; the difference in the patch test positivity rate between groups was significant (P < 0.05). The most common allergen that elicited positive patch test results in the patient group was cochineal red (n = 15 [62.5%]), followed by azorubine (n = 11 [45.8%]) and amaranth (n = 6 [25%]).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present findings show that food additives might play a role in the etiology of RAS and that patch testing could be a method for determining the etiology of RAS.
authors.affiliation: Hacettepe University, School of Medicine, Department of Dermatology, Ankara, Turkey.|University of Virginia Medical Center, Division of Dermatopathology, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Duygu
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gülseren
authors.affiliation: Hacettepe University, School of Medicine, Department of Dermatology, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Asli
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hapa
authors.affiliation: Hacettepe University, School of Medicine, Department of Dermatology, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Sibel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ersoy-Evans
authors.affiliation: Hacettepe University, School of Medicine, Department of Dermatology, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Gonca
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Elçin
authors.affiliation: Hacettepe University, School of Medicine, Department of Dermatology, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ayşen
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Karaduman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000485:Allergens / Q000009:adverse effects*; D000548:Amaranth Dye / Q000009:adverse effects; D001391:Azo Compounds / Q000009:adverse effects; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004396:Coloring Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D005503:Food Additives / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009282:Naphthalenesulfonates / Q000009:adverse effects; D010328:Patch Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013281:Stomatitis, Aphthous / Q000276:immunology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens; D001391:Azo Compounds; D004396:Coloring Agents; D005503:Food Additives; D009282:Naphthalenesulfonates; D000548:Amaranth Dye; C006671:azo rubin S; C576297:ponceau 4R