Food Allergies: As One Resolves, Another may Develop

A recent study shows that just as one food allergy may resolve, another could potentially develop.

This research conducted by pediatric experts suggests that health care providers and caregivers alike need to more carefully monitor children with food allergies in order to properly recognize signs of eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE)-otherwise known as a severe and painful type of allergy that has been increasing over the years.

"These two types of allergy have some elements in common, but patients with EoE usually don't go on to develop tolerance to the foods that trigger EoE," said pediatric allergist Jonathan M. Spergel, M.D., Ph.D., of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), via a press release. Spergel directs CHOP's Center for Pediatric Eosinophilic Disorders, one of the nation's premier programs for these conditions. He is also the lead study author of the research. 

For the study, researchers compared EoE with IgE-mediated food allergy-the more familiar type of food allergy that occurs as antibodies mount from exaggerated immune responses against proteins in particular foods, including nuts, milk or eggs that may trigger certain skin reactions, as well as vomiting or other symptoms.

The researchers conducted a retrospective analysis of all children seen at CHOP for EoF between 2000 and 2012, with a total of 1,375 patients. From that number, 425 could be shown to a food causing their condition that was most probably linked to milk, soy, eggs or wheat. Yet in the subgroup, 17 patients developed FoF to a food when they outgrew an IgE-mediated allergy to that specific food.

"The pattern we found in those 17 patients suggests that the two types of food allergy have distinct pathophysiologies-they operate by different mechanisms and cause different functional changes," said Spergel, via the release. "However, this pattern also raises the possibility that prior IgE-mediated food allergy may predispose a patient to developing EoE to the same food."

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More information regarding the study was presented March 2 at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology 2014 Annual Meeting.