AAAAI Meeting: Allergy Treatment, Labeling, Dietary Needs

AAAAI Meeting: Allergy Treatment, Labeling, Dietary Needs

NEW YORK--The annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology(AAAAI) shed light on potential peanut allergy treatment, allergenic food labeling concerns and dietary needs of children with food allergies. The meeting of the Milwaukee-based association (www.aaaai.org) was held here in early March.

A study presented by Kamal Srivastava, M.D., and colleagues from Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York and the University of Arkansas Medical School indicated that intranasal immunotherapy with modified peanut allergens may offer protection against peanut-induced anaphylaxis. Researchers orally sensitized mice with peanut and cholera toxin over a period of eight weeks, then treated one group with modified peanut allergens and another group with placebo. The mice in the treatment groups showed significantly decreased allergic reactions and allergy symptoms than mice in the placebo group.

According to Preeti Joshi, Ph.D., and colleagues from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, food labeling and patient education needs improvement to reduce the risk to those with food allergies. To determine the accuracy of label interpretation, Joshi and his colleagues administered a questionnaire among 91 sets of parents with food allergic children. Only four of 60 parents with children allergic to milk were able to identify all labels indicating milk protein. Only six of 27 parents with soy-allergic children correctly identified allergenic soy protein every time. In addition, 13 of 27 parents incorrectly considered foods containing soybean oil or soy lecithin as allergenic. Peanut was identified correctly in all products by 44 of the 82 parents restricting peanut intake. The most common error was related to a chocolate product containing "trace peanuts." Wheat and egg were correctly identified by most parents (14 of 16 and 42 of 45, respectively). Researchers concluded that with current labeling practices, most parents are unable to identify common allergenic foods--in particular, those products containing milk and soy. However, parents who had met with a dietitian were more likely to accurately interpret labels.

A third presentation given at the AAAAI annual meeting involved the need to carefully watch the nutrient intake of children with food allergies. Lynn Christie, M.S., R.D., and colleagues from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences evaluated the diets of children with one or more food allergy against the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Guide Pyramid. They found that of the 34 children surveyed, 41 percent were not receiving adequate amounts of dairy, 65 percent did not receive enough meat, 71 percent failed to consume enough fruit, 82 percent lacked adequate vegetable intake, and 74 percent did not consume enough grain. In addition, these children were lacking in nutrient intakes: 79 percent were lacking in vitamin D, 24 percent did not receive enough calcium, 65 percent were lacking vitamin E, 59 percent had low intakes of zinc, 18 percent were lacking iron and 18 percent did not receive enough vitamin A. Researchers concluded that emphasis needs to be given to finding dairy alternatives to make sure children with food allergies receive adequate intake of calcium and vitamin D for normal growth and development.