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Food allergies are a growing problem, with one in twelve children having at least one allergy, commonly peanut, eggs, milk, wheat, soy, and shellfish. Despite the enormity of this problem, allergists have so far been unable to provide any pro-active treatments, apart from advising patients to avoid those foods and to keep an epi-pen nearby in case of anaphylaxis.  But there’s now some hope.  In this month’s issue of JACI, Dr. Wood surveys a slew of new therapies that aim to modify the immune system so that children can be desensitized to the foods they are allergic to ( J Allergy Clin Immunol 2016; 137(4): 973-982 ).  The classic approach of desensitizing patients to environmental allergens – like pollens or dander - through shots, has been tried before with food allergies. Although this approach was somewhat successful for a few children, the risks were far too high and it has largely been avoided.  Recently, oral immunotherapy – that is, ingesting really small amou...

Children are afraid of a lot of things: the dark, strangers, and even the bogeyman.  But for more and more kids, ordinary foods, like peanuts, eggs, and milk, are becoming sources of fear.  Food allergies are becoming increasingly common in the developed world, and we don’t have a good explanation of why.  In this month’s issue of JACI, du Toit and his colleagues talk about the factors that lead to food allergies, and what can be done to prevent children from developing food allergies ( J Allergy Clin Immunol 2016; 137(4): 998-1010 ). It’s clear that there are some risk factors that we just can’t change: male gender, a family history of food allergies, and even race can put children at a higher risk for developing food allergies.  But there are other things that we can possibly change.  Since children with eczema (atopic dermatitis) tend to have food allergies, there have been some discussion about whether preventing and controlling eczema by regularly applying ...

One may not believe it, but there is an entire universe in one's belly.  One's guts, in and of themselves, are over 300 square meters in surface area, and are home to thousands of different species of bacteria, as well as an immune system that is exquisitely tailored towards sensing, which of the 300 kilograms of food ingredients  that we ingest each year are safe, and which are unsafe.  So in this veritable universe of bowel, it is incredibly difficult to figure out what decides whether one becomes allergic or tolerant to food. Chintharajah et al tackle this problem in this month’s issue of JACI ( J Allergy Clin Immunol 2016; 137(4): 984-997 ).  They begin by surveying the types of immune cells that service our gut.  They highlight the central role of a specific type of immune cell called the dendritic cell, which lives in the walls of the small intestine (among other areas), in capturing the proteins in food particles, processing them, and then presenting them...