Professor David van Heel of Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry led a team of international professionals that examined genetic material from 9,451 people with celiac disease. Researchers found that people with celiac disease had disturbances in how the body’s T cells react to wheat proteins, how the thymus gland eliminates these cells, and how the body responds to viral infections.

“We now understand that many of these genetic risk factors work by altering the amounts of these immune system genes that cells make,” van Heel explained in a press release. “The data also suggests that celiac disease is made up of hundreds of genetic risk factors. We can have a good guess at nearly half of the genetic risk at present.”

Gluten is found in products made from wheat, barley, and rye. When a person with celiac eats foods that contain gluten, the villi in the small intestine are damaged or destroyed and cannot absorb nutrients. Symptoms include stomach pain, vomiting or nausea, diarrhea, and unexplained weight loss.

The only way to treat celiac disease is to adopt a gluten-free diet. If left unmanaged, it can cause malnutrition, fatigue, osteoporosis, and anemia. Understanding these risks could help doctors predict and detect celiac disease before these complications arise.

This research could provide insight into other autoimmune diseases. According to van Heel, there may be reason to believe the same immune disturbances used to detect celiac disease could also potentially be used to predict type 1 diabetes.

The study appears in the February 28 edition of Nature Genetics.

Most people who are allergic to peanuts are also allergic to tree nuts. Someone with a less sensitive allergy may be able to tolerate certain co-products, such as peanut oil, but most aren’t so lucky. Even trace amounts of peanut products can set off a reaction.

"At the start of the study, these participants couldn't tolerate one-sixth of a peanut," Dr. Wesley Burks, chief of Duke’s Pediatric Allergy and Immunology division, said in a press release following the first trial. "Six months into it, they were ingesting 13 to 15 peanuts before they had a reaction."

Co-author Dr. Tamara Perry, of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, explained to Health Day that this research is not meant to help people eat peanuts, but to help prevent the severe reactions that come with accidental ingestion.

A peanut allergy can cause skin reactions (such as hives or swelling), diarrhea, and nausea/vomiting. It can also cause lightheadedness, a stuffy nose, or itchy, watery eyes. In more extreme reactions, blood pressure may drop to dangerous levels and cause difficulty breathing, sometimes resulting in loss of consciousness.

Researchers from Duke University ran several tests investigating the effectiveness of immunotherapy treatment. Fifteen children ate small amounts of food with peanut ingredients in slowly increasing amounts every day.

Although there were several reactions over the course of the study, children could safely consume 5,000 milligrams (about 15 peanuts) by the experiment’s finish. Eight of these children were re-tested after four weeks away from the program, and all were able to eat peanuts safely.

"Of course the ultimate goal would be to promote tolerance that would allow these patients—children and adults—to eat peanuts,” Perry told Health Day. “The immunotherapy work being carried out now shows a lot potential promise in that direction."

The success of Duke’s peanut immunotherapy treatment is hopeful, but more testing is needed to determine whether some of the effects were a result of children growing out of the allergy. Research is still in the early stages and should not be tried at home.

Read more about Duke’s research in the Duke University article.

Researchers may have found a way to cure children of severe peanut allergies, the most dangerous food allergy. The small study is the first to show that food allergies, dangerous reactions to certain foods that can result in death by anaphylaxis, may be overcome by controlled daily doses of the offending food. However, as this is a preliminary study, parents and physicians should NOT attempt this treatment yet.

Scientists were able to induce long-term peanut tolerance by exposing a small group of children with severe peanut allergies to increasing amounts of peanut flour over a period of months. The technique, called oral immunotherapy, is similar in principle to the "allergy shots" available for airborne allergies: the body is exposed to small amounts of an allergen and over time, the body adapts to it.

In the study, 29 children with severe peanut allergies spent a day in the hospital swallowing very small but slowly increasing doses of a specially-prepared peanut flour, up to the point where they started to have a reaction. After that, the children and their parents were sent home with a supply of the peanut flour and instructions on how to take a daily dose just under the amount that caused a reaction. For the severely allergic, this is usually around the equivalent of 1/1,000^th of a peanut. Over a period of eight to ten months, the daily dose of peanut flour was gradually increased until the children could tolerate the equivalent of 15 peanuts worth of peanut flour. Thereafter, the children continue to take a constant daily maintenance dose.

Some of the children in the study have been on maintenance therapy for 2.5 years. After completing a series of challenge tests involving real peanuts, four of these children were able to stop the daily treatments and eat peanuts normally.

The children were also tested for their levels of peanut-specific IgE antibodies, the body molecules that cause them to react to the peanuts in the first place. At the study outset, most of the children had IgE levels greater than 25. At the end of the study, their peanut IgE levels were less than 2 and have remained low.

The researchers caution that the technique is still under study and warn parents and physicians NOT to attempt it on their own. Because only a small number of individuals participated in the study, more research is needed before scientists can be confident in the results. Also, it is possible that some patients may have allergy symptoms so severe that the treatment may not work.

Only time will tell if the effects of the treatment continue to last. For now, the four children who were able to stop the daily peanut flour doses have been instructed to eat the equivalent of a tablespoon of peanut butter each day to ensure that they remain allergy-free. A study currently underway is examining the effect of the peanut flour treatment compared to a control group not receiving the treatment.

Want to learn more about food allergies? Join the Healia Support Group Community for Food Allergy. You can also read the Healia Health Guide to Allergies. For information on seasonal allergies, consult the Healia Health Guide to Outdoor Allergies.

_{Photo: EuroMagic, Flickr, Creative Commons}

Food allergies are relatively common in the United States and are reported to be on the rise. Up to 8% of children and 2% of adults in the United States are estimated to have food allergies. Food allergies occur when the immune system mistakes an element of food for a foreign invader and mounts an immune response against it. This can lead to symptoms such as an itching sensation in your mouth, vomiting, diarrhea, throat tightness, trouble breathing, and in rare cases, a potentially deadly reaction called anaphylaxis.

Not all foods can cause food allergies. For unknown reasons a short list of only eight foods is responsible for more than 90% of all food allergies in the U.S. Food allergies are related to how common a particular food is in the diet and as a result, tend to be cultural: rice allergies are common in Japan and codfish appears on the list in Scandinavia. Below is a list of the most common foods that cause food allergies, along with a discussion of their prevalence in adults and children.

The top foods that cause food allergies are:

• Cow’s Milk
  The most common food allergy in children, milk allergy affects 2-3% of infants in developed countries. Up to 90% of these children grow out of the allergy by the time they reach 4 years of age. Note that an allergy to cow’s milk is not the same thing as lactose intolerance. The former is a true allergy and causes symptoms such as hives and breathing problems as well as stomach problems, while the latter is not an allergy but a food “intolerance” and causes only digestive problems.


• Eggs
  Eggs are another very common food allergy among children and this allergy persists into adulthood for some. Most kids will outgrow an egg allergy by age 5. Something to be aware of if you or your child has egg allergies is that some vaccines, including the flu vaccine, contain egg proteins which may provoke a serious reaction in allergic individuals.


• Peanuts
  Peanut allergies are common in both children and adults with about 1% of each group affected. Only about one-quarter of children with peanut allergies outgrow them. Peanut proteins in seem especially adept at provoking the immune system into a lethal attack on the body, and indeed peanut allergies are the leading cause of food-related death. However, these deaths are still quite rare.


• Tree nuts
  Tree nut allergies are more common in children than adults but a fair amount of adults are affected as well. Tree nuts include most familiar nuts except peanuts, including almonds, walnuts, cashews, Brazil nuts, pecans, macadamia nuts, and others.


• Wheat
  Wheat allergies are quite common in adults, accounting for as much as one-quarter of all food allergies. Many children also have wheat allergies. There is a related problem called celiac disease, in which the immune system attacks the small intestine whenever the protein gluten is ingested. Gluten is present is large amount in wheat, rye, and barley. For people with either celiac disease or wheat allergies, a wheat-free diet is essential.


• Soy
  Soy allergies are more common in children than adults. Think babies don’t eat soy? Actually, many infant formulas contain soy protein and soy allergy often starts with a reaction to a soy-based infant formula. Although most children outgrow soy allergy by age 3, soy allergy may persist and is becoming more common in adults. Other foods that contain soy include tofu and many bread products, which may contain soy flour.


• Fish
  Seafood allergies, which include allergies to fish and shellfish, are the most common cause of food allergy. Seafood can be a powerful allergen for certain people, causing life-threatening reactions. Seafood allergies are life-long, but don’t affect children as much as adults because kids don’t eat as much seafood. Most people who are allergic to fish are not allergic to shellfish and vice versa, but it is not a good idea to test that for yourself unless under the supervision of a doctor.


• Shellfish (i.e. crustaceans and mollusks)
  As with fish, shellfish allergies are very common, especially among adults. Interestingly, people tend to be allergic to either crustaceans (e.g. crabs, lobsters, and shrimp) or mollusks (e.g. squid, clams, mussels, oysters, and scallops); only 14% of seafood allergy sufferers are allergic to both.

For more information about food allergies, see the Healia Health Guide on Allergies. To share stories and tips about how to live with a food allergy, join the Healia Health Community for Food Allergy

_{Sources: Ameican Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, TIps to Remember: Food Allergy. http://www.aaaai.org/patients/publicedmat/tips/foodallergy.stm; Seafood Allergy, Allergy and Asthma Advocate, Winter 2006. http://www.aaaai.org/patients/advocate/2006/winter/seafood.asp}

_{Photo: wEnDaLicious, Flickr, Creative Commons}

The number of American children with food allergies has increased by 18% in the past decade according to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The report shows that about 3 million kids and teens in the U.S. suffered from at least one type of food allergy in 2007, up from 2.3 million in 1997. Overall, nearly 4% of American children under the age of 18 (3.8 percent of boys and 4.1 percent of girls) had food allergies.

According to the CDC, eight types of foods account for 90% of these allergies: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy and wheat. Allergic reactions to foods can cause a mild tingling sensation in the lips, hives and may even cause death in severe cases.

Children who have food allergies are also more likely to suffer from asthma and other types of allergies. According to the CDC report, in 2007, 29 percent of children with a food allergy also had asthma and 30 percent also had some type of respiratory allergy; comparatively, only 12 percent of children without food allergies have asthma and 9 percent have a respiratory allergy.

Researchers do not really understand how or why someone develops a food allergy. On the positive side, the majority of children tend to “outgrow” food allergies as the number of adults who suffer from them is far lower.

If you are concerned that your child may have a food allergy, contact your doctor right away. It is not a good idea to eliminate certain foods from your child’s diet without the supervision of a doctor.

Find out more about allergies from the Healia Health Guide: Allergies.

_{Photo: Gaetan Lee, Flickr, Creative Commons}

Have you noticed an increase in gluten-free products in your grocery store? If you are wondering why, it may be related to an increase in information on celiac disease, an autoimmune disease whereby a person’s intestinal tract cannot tolerate food containing gluten. As a result the body cannot absorb nutrients, increasing the risk of more serious conditions. Gluten is the protein found in grains such as wheat, rye and barley.

One out of 133 people is affected by celiac disease, which is diagnosed by specific blood tests and a bowel biopsy. Symptoms include abdominal cramping, gas, bloating, diarrhea or constipation, and anemia. Treatment consists of cutting all wheat and related grains out of one’s diet.

Yikes! that might seem difficult, and the tricky part isn’t giving up traditional bread. Gluten is found in foods not usually thought of as “grainy” such as: cold cuts, soups, hard candies, soy sauce, many low or non-fat products, even licorice and jelly beans. Because of the “hidden” ingredients, reading food labels becomes an essential part of any trip to the grocery store. Thankfully, due to growing demand, it is getting easier to find gluten-free products at the local grocery store.

For more information, including links to gluten-free recipes, search www.healia.com.

gluten free celiac disease food allergy