こどもの食物アレルギー : 食べて防ぐ，食べて治す

The risk of allergic symptoms by accidental ingestion as well as the influence on physical development and consequent reduced quality of life due to elimination diets are challenges associated with food allergies. Children with infantile-onset food allergies are at a high risk of developing subsequent asthma and allergic rhinitis. Therefore, research interest in prevention and early remission of food allergies has recently gained traction.
The “dual-allergen-exposure hypothesis” was advocated by Lack in ２００８, and the hypothesis highlights percutaneous sensitization and oral tolerance for pathogenesis of food allergy as promising research strategies. Recently, some studies have focused on the prevention or early tolerance induction of food allergies. In addition, previous research has shown that atopic dermatitis can be prevented by using moisturizer in the neonatal stage of high-risk children. However, there is no evidence to suggest that skin care alone can prevent the onset of food allergies. Meanwhile, aggressive eczema treatment and early consumption of eggs has been shown to have a preventive effect on egg allergy in high-risk infants. However, further research is needed in the area of prevention of food allergy from the viewpoint of oral tolerance, including investigation of different foods, determining the appropriate time of ingestion, the amount of food to be ingested, antigenicity, and frequency of ingestion.
Previous works report that even if food allergy does develop, the ingestion of causative food below the allergy-symptom threshold may be useful for early tolerance induction. Oral immunotherapy has also been reported to be effective in children with severe food allergy. Therefore, we hope that future studies will improve our knowledge to overcome problems associated with food allergies, for safe and effective prevention and treatment of food allergy in children.