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Biomedical subjects

Amy M Scurlock

Publications and source records attributed to Amy M Scurlock.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Egg oral immunotherapy in nonanaphylactic children with egg allergy.

BACKGROUND: There is no current active treatment for food allergy. Traditional injection immunotherapy has been proved unsafe, and thus there is a need for other forms of immunotherapy. OBJECTIVE: The purpose was to study the safety and immunologic effects of egg oral immunotherapy (OIT). The short-term goal was to desensitize subjects to protect against accidental ingestion reactions. The eventual goal was to induce lasting clinical and immunologic tolerance. METHODS: Subjects with a history of egg allergy but without a history of anaphylaxis to egg underwent a 24-month egg OIT protocol involving modified rush, build-up, and maintenance phases. Double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenges were performed at study conclusion. Egg-specific IgE and IgG concentrations were followed. RESULTS: Seven subjects completed the protocol. Egg-specific IgG concentrations increased significantly, whereas egg-specific IgE concentrations did not significantly change. Three subjects tolerated known or possible accidental egg ingestions while receiving OIT. During double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenges at study conclusion, all tolerated significantly more egg protein than at study onset and than that found in the typical accidental exposure. Two subjects demonstrated oral tolerance. CONCLUSION: This study provides proof of concept that OIT can be safely used for patients with egg allergy without a history of anaphylaxis to egg. Egg OIT does not heighten sensitivity to egg and might protect against reaction on accidental ingestion. Whether OIT will induce clinical oral tolerance cannot be concluded from this initial cohort. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Use of allergen-specific OIT to protect subjects with food allergy from reaction on accidental ingestion would represent a significant paradigm change in the treatment of food allergy.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed2005

Food allergy in children.

Food allergic reactions have generated increasing concern in the United States, with approximately one fourth of American households altering their dietary habits because a member of the family is perceived to suffer from food allergies. IgE-mediated (type I) hypersensitivity accounts for most well-characterized food allergic reactions, although non-IgE-mediated immune mechanisms are believed to be responsible for a variety of hypersensitivity disorders. This article examines adverse food reactions that are IgE-mediated, non-IgE-mediated, and those entities that have characteristics of both.

Child↗
PubMed2004

Peanut allergenicity.

OBJECTIVE: To provide the reader with a relevant review of the structure and allergenicity of the major peanut allergens, while also exploring predictors of clinical reactivity to peanuts, the natural history of peanut allergy, and novel therapeutic strategies for peanut hypersensitivity. DATA SOURCES: A PubMed search for the years 1980 to 2004 was performed using the following search terms: peanut allergy, food allergy, anaphylaxis, peanut allergen structure, and peanut immunotherapy. STUDY SELECTION: Articles highlighting major advances in the study of peanut allergy were selected for further review. RESULTS: Peanut allergy is the most serious of the hypersensitivity reactions to foods due to its persistence and high risk of severe anaphylaxis. The major peanut allergens and their associated immunodominant IgE-binding epitopes have been characterized. Definition of these allergens has lead to an increased understanding of the peanut-specific immunologic response and improved predictors of clinical reactivity to peanuts. An understanding of these mechanisms is vital for the eventual development of safe and effective immunotherapy for peanut allergic patients. Novel therapeutic and diagnostic approaches are being developed for patients with peanut hypersensitivity. CONCLUSIONS: Improved understanding of the molecular structure of the major peanut allergens and the peanut-specific immune response has lead to significant diagnostic and therapeutic advances in the study of peanut allergy.

Allergens↗