A Bright Future for the Food Allergy Kids
Will food allergies soon be eradicated?
Inspired by the recent discovery and approval of a needle-free alternative to the epinephrine auto-injection, I decided to go on a deep dive into the current research being conducted on food allergies. Only about 30 minutes away from us, one university is making a big impact.
The Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research at Stanford University is taking food allergy research and treatment to another level. Just last year, their drug Xolair was FDA-approved to treat IgE-mediated food allergies. After a few months of Xolair treatment rounds, children were able to eat small amounts of the foods they were allergic to. Because this drug also allows for self-administering, this drug is both easy to use and accessible. It is stated to be the first alternative to other methods such as the the EpiPen and oral immunotherapies.
But let’s back up: what is an “IgE”? IgE is a typical type of antibody produced by the immune system during allergic reactions. This is common for food allergies to milk, nuts, and wheat, but it is also common in asthma and other conditions where symptoms such as hives or itchiness are present.
So how does Xolair work? Scientists at Stanford created Xolair to block IgE from binding to certain receptors in your body. In turn, this prevents the release of histamines, which cause inflammation and nasty allergy symptoms. That’s why the allergy medicines you take when you are sneezing or have a runny nose are often labeled as “antihistamines”.
Food allergies are a big problem in the United States, affecting millions of children and adults’ daily lives. As someone with a food allergy myself, I understand how anxiety-provoking having an allergy can be, not only for myself but also for my family and friends. Solving this biological puzzle could help save and improve millions of lives. While scientists don’t quite understand what specifically causes a person’s immune system to overreact, or why food allergies are on the rise, research centers like the Sean Parker Center are working tirelessly to discover ways to eradicate food allergies via immunotherapy. Excitingly, researchers are even looking to use cutting-edge technologies like CRISPR and AI in future studies. I am excited to see what research comes out in the next decade, as we are certainly nearing toward a cure.
References:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11643764/