January 2017: Food Allergy News

1/5/2017:  National Institute of Health Recommends for Peanut Foods for Infants

The National Institue of Health (NIH) recommends giving peanuts to infants in varying degrees based upon that child's risk.  Here are the 3 degrees but all should be under the supervision of a doctor: 

1. Guideline 1 focuses on infants deemed at high risk of developing peanut allergy because they already have severe eczema, egg allergy or both. The expert panel recommends that these infants have peanut-containing foods introduced into their diets as early as 4 to 6 months of age to reduce the risk.
2. Guideline 2 suggests that infants with mild or moderate eczema should have peanut-containing foods introduced into their diets around 6 months of age to reduce the risk of peanut allergy.
3. Guideline 3 suggests that infants without eczema or any food allergy have peanut-containing foods freely introduced into their diets.

https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-sponsored-expert-panel-issues-clinical-guidelines-prevent-peanut-allergy

DECEMBER 2016: FOOD ALLERGY NEWS

12/1/2016:  Adrenaclick Provides a Generic Epi-Pen AutoInjector

In light of the recent controversy about the high cost of the infamous Epi-Pen autoinjectors, there is a generic version on the market.  It is called "Adrenaclick" and can be obtained if your doctor includes "generic" on the prescription for epinephrine.  [1]

12/15/2016:  VITAL Allergen Labels

The United States may consider adopting Australian-based VITAL Allergen Labels.  VITAL stands for Voluntary Incidental Trace Allergen Labelling and defines a way to standardize labels for allergen risks.  The VITAL program uses an Action Level grid to show, "Action Level concentrations (ppm) calculated using the Reference Dose (mg allergen protein) and a Reference Amount specific to the food." Download the PowerPoint. [2]

[1]  http://adrenaclick.com/what_is_anaphylaxis.php

[2] http://allergenbureau.net/vital/vital-science/

NOVEMBER 2016: FOOD ALLERGY NEWS

11/1/2016:  Auvi-Q Injector Coming Back

The small, convenient, rectangular shaped epinephrine injector called Auvi-Q are planned to be back in the market in the first half of 2017.  It was recalled in 2015 and originally invented by twin brothers with allergies--one is a doctor and the other an engineer. The device also has voice instructions to guide the administrator through the injection process. [1]

11/30/2016:  National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine Report

A meeting took place and report released on November 30th by the above academy to review the work that was done over the past 18-months by the food allergy research committee as funded by the U.S. government.  Food allergy prevalence, diagnosis, prevention and approaches to manage allergies were studied for IgE based food allergies. It is expected that, "significant" recommendations will be provided over the next few years. For example, it may be recommended that an infant-based auto injector be created for  a very low dose administration. Also, food allergy labels may be revamped based upon the VITAL system currently used in Australia and New Zealand.  Further, more standard regulations may be imposed on food companies and where foods are served publicly like on airplanes or in schools.  A 1-hour recording can be heard.  Follow on Twitter at #NASEMFOODALLERGIES. The full report can be downloaded. [2]

[1] http://foodallergycanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/AQ-Comeback-Announcement-FINAL.pdf

[2] http://nationalacademies.org/hmd/Activities/Nutrition/FoodAllergies/2016-NOV-30.aspx 

OCTOBER 2016: FOOD ALLERGY NEWS

10/7/2016:  Infants Dairy Allergy and Probiotics

Probiotics and prebiotics are important for digestion and are natively part of breastmilk.  But forumla-fed infants may need more to help not only with including distress (crying), eczema, diarrhea, abdominal pain, colic, vomiting but also the health of the gut and overall immune system. [1]

10/26/2016:  Peanut Patch Improves 36% Over Placebo Group

A study using Viaskin Peanut patch on the skin appears to improve tolerance to peanuts especially for ages 4-11 by 36%.  It was found the placebo group had a 12% improvement, but the patched group had a 46 to 48% improvement and was able to tolerate 10 times more peanut after one year. [2]

[1]  http://www.nutriciaresearch.com/new-data-important-for-infants-suffering-from-severe-cows-milk-protein-allergy/

[2]  https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/10/161026105052.htm

SEPTEMBER 2016: FOOD ALLERGY NEWS

9/17/2016:  Vaccinations Trigger Allergens

The CDC now agrees with 1913, Nobel Prize-winning French physiologist Charles Richet who discovered that any proteins which are injected into the bloodstream will result in the development of an allergy to that protein.  Apparently our vaccines contain proteins such as casein, eggs and yeast, which cause food allergies.[1]

9/25/2016:  Dairy Allergy Probiotics

A study with about 220 children showed that when they had the probiotics called 'Clostridia' and 'Frimicutes' in their digestive tract they were more likely to outgrow the dairy allergy over several years. [Oddly additional research indicates these strains are highly toxic so physican oversight should be had.]  A similar study indicated that antibiotics under the age of 1 can increase the chance of having food allergies.[2]

[1] http://yournewswire.com/cdc-research-concludes-vaccines-cause-food-allergies/

[2] http://allergenbureau.net/roles-antibiotics-probiotics-development-resolution-food-allergy/