Variability in threshold doses for food allergens

The lowest dose of a food allergen that will induce symptoms is known to vary a great deal between different sensitised individuals. However, there is clinical evidence to support the concept that a threshold dose does exist.

Considerable work has been conducted to understand how to reliably predict or determine such a threshold. Steve Taylor from the Food Allergy Research and Resource Program, University of Nebraska, and some of his colleagues from the ILSI Threshold Working Group that has been working to develop the Key Events Dose-Response Framework (KEDRF), have recently published a paper describing the potential application of this analytical approach for understanding the factors that impact on food allergen threshold levels.

The article provides a useful background to the complex two-step food allergy manifestation process, the current approaches to identifying thresholds, including animal studies, immunotherapy trials and double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenges (DBPCFC), and the current approaches to setting regulatory standards for food allergens. The third section of the paper describes the KEDRF and how it may be used to improve understanding of food allergen thresholds. The key biological events that occur between food intake and allergic response are outlined, as are several factors that may impact upon the nature and severity of an individual’s response to food allergens.

In the discussion section, the authors pose several questions that remain to be answered, and suggest future research strategies that may help to establish population threshold distributions.

This article may be freely downloaded from www.informaworld.com and used for research, teaching and private study purposes.