生物谷报道：最新研究确认了一种对于抵抗食物过敏非常重要的分子，这或许将带来新的治疗手段。
目前尚没有治疗食物过敏的有效方法，对患者而言唯一的手段是避免特定引起过敏的食物，并保证随身携带可注射的肾上腺激素。由Norwich食物研究所的Claudio Nicoletti博士领导的小组发现，在过敏反应发生过程中，一种被称为Interleukin-12（IL-12）的分子会消失。Nicoletti博士证实，在存在IL-12的情况下注入抗原，则过敏反应能被抑制，并且得到控制。
Nicoletti说：“食物中对某些人完全无害的蛋白质可能对其它人是致命的。而我们找到了保证免疫系统反应受到控制的关键分子。”
发生食物过敏意味着免疫系统对食物蛋白发生了反应。免疫系统产生免疫球蛋白E（IgE），它通常用于帮助身体对抗寄生虫。而在极端情况下，患者将发生致命的免疫反应，包括过敏性休克。
在之前的研究中，Nicoletti发现一种被称为枝状细胞的特殊白细胞对于帮助免疫系统确定如何对外来分子做出反应非常关键。在最新实验中，Nicoletti比较了过敏性老鼠和正常老鼠之间肠道和脾脏的枝状细胞活跃性。结果发现，在过敏性老鼠的肠道中，枝状细胞停止产生IL-12。
Nicoletti说：“我们找到了对于调控免疫反应非常重要的分子，并且首次找到了过敏治疗的潜在目标。”而Anaphylaxis Campaign主任David Reading说：“过敏对于家庭而言是沉重的负担，因此我们对于这一研究结果很高兴。” （引自教育部科技发展中心）
原文链接：http://www.physorg.com/news102589849.html
原始出处:
Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
Volume 119, Issue 6, Pages 1504-1510 (June 2007)
Prevalence of self-reported food allergy in American adults and use of food labels
Katherine A. Vierk, MPHa, Kathleen M. Koehler, PhD, MPHa, Sara B. Fein, PhDa, Debra A. Street, PhDa
Received 12 June 2006; received in revised form 12 March 2007; accepted 12 March 2007 published online 25 April 2007.
College Park, Md
Background
Few population-based studies in the United States have determined the prevalence of food allergy in adults and the problems these individuals might have with reading food labels.
Objective
The objectives of this study are to report the prevalence of self-reported food allergy, to identify the characteristics of food allergy reactions, and to describe the use of labels among adults with food allergy.
Methods
Questions from the US Food and Drug Administration's 2001 Food Safety Survey were analyzed to determine the prevalence of food allergy and opinions about food labels in the management of food allergy.
Results
The prevalence of self-reported food allergy is 9.1% among all survey respondents, with 5.3% of all respondents reporting a doctor-diagnosed food allergy. The prevalence of food allergy to the 8 most common allergens (peanut, tree nuts, egg, milk, wheat, soybeans, fish, and crustacean shellfish) is self-reported as 2.7% among respondents with doctors' diagnoses. Several label issues, such as words on some ingredient lists being too technical or hard to understand and food labels not always alerting persons to new ingredients, were reported as serious or very serious obstacles for managing an allergy.
Conclusion
The prevalence of self-reported doctor-diagnosed food allergy among US adults is 5.3%, and a large portion of adults with food allergy found certain label issues a serious problem for managing their food allergy.
Clinical implications
The findings provide a needed source of population-based prevalence data of food allergy among US adults. Label issues identified are useful in understanding the difficulties of managing a food allergy.
Key words: Food allergy, food labeling, prevalence
