Annual review of advances in allergy research

Each year, Sicherer and Leung review the highlights of the scientific advances in anaphylaxis and hypersensitivity reactions to foods, drugs, and insects that were published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology throughout the preceding year. These reviews serve as useful references to keep up to date with advances in this field and provide a 'one-stop' summary of key research published in this journal. Their latest edition relating to research published throughout 2010 is now available.

Epidemiologic studies published in 2010 that indicate the prevalence of peanut allergy among children is now more than 1%. Throughout the year, there was an accumulation of evidence that exposure to food allergens earlier in life, rather than delayed introduction of these foods, might improve allergy outcomes.

Advances in food allergy diagnosis mentioned in the latest review include improved insights into prognosis and estimation of severity through component-resolved diagnostics and characterization of IgE binding to specific epitopes. Research into new and improved treatments for food allergy includes oral and epicutaneous immunotherapy, both of which show promise to-date.

The review of 2010 research also highlights studies into other aspects of allergy and asthma that are not directly related to food allergy but may have an impact on future management and treatment of the symptoms of food allergy.

Reference: Sicherer & Leung 2010. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. DOI: 10.1016/j.jaci.2010.11.024.