Health Conditions
Food Allergies
Food allergies are immune responses to specific foods that can cause painful and life-threatening reactions. Foods typically driving these responses include peanuts, tree nuts, eggs and cow’s milk, along with other allergens. Ingestion of even a small amount can cause immediate, often severe, reactions. It is estimated that 1 in 10 adults and 1 in 8 children are impacted by this condition.
Symptoms
Patients with food allergies can experience:
Hives
Skin rash
Itchy skin
Swelling on your face, lips, mouth or tongue
Hoarse voice
Difficulty swallowing
Wheezing
Shortness of breath
Coughing
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Causes
Food allergies result from your immune system mistakenly identifying and attacking a food protein as something harmful. When you consume an allergen, your body attempts to flush the allergen out, causing symptoms which can include life-threatening anaphylactic shock.
Treatment
Currently, the best treatment option for food allergies is to avoid your known allergen(s). There are treatment options like an oral medication or injection that can reduce the severity of your reaction. For patients with high risk of anaphylaxis, it is recommended to carry emergency medications, such as epinephrine or an epi-pen.
Microbiota Therapy Research
ACT research partners at the University of Minnesota, Harvard University, and Boston Children’s Hospital are completing clinical trials to determine the safety and efficacy of treating food allergies with Microbiota Transplant Therapy.
Evaluating the Safety and Efficacy of Oral Encapsulated Fecal Microbiota Transplant in Peanut Allergic Patients Trial Location: Boston Children’s Hospital – Boston, MA
Trial Status: Completed
Trial Summary:
A secondary phase 1, open label clinical trial was completed, including an antibiotic treatment prior to the administration of FMT. In this trial, 60% of patients improved their peanut protein reactivity after one FMT.
For more information, visit: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT02960074Evaluating the Safety and Efficacy of Oral Encapsulated Fecal Microbiota Transplantation Therapy in Peanut Allergic Patients
Trial Location: Boston Children’s Hospital – Boston, MA
Trial Status: Underway
Trial Summary:
A new, phase 2, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial in patients aged 12-17 is underway to investigate the impact of higher dosing of microbiota transplant therapy in patients with peanut allergies. In this trial, patients will receive a pre-antibiotic followed by 27 days of microbiota transplant therapy capsules or placebo capsules.
For more information, visit: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05695261
Research Partner Perspectives
2023 Research Update: Dr. Rachid
Research Alerts