JUST THE BASICS

Food allergies occur when the immune system mistakes a harmless food as a dangerous threat, and makes antibodies to attack it, causing an allergic reaction. These antibodies are called IgE antibodies and they are made by an immune cell called the B cell (in this cartoon, Bobby B cell).

For a long time, the only “treatment” for food allergy was to avoid the food allergen. However, allergists are studying ways to retrain the immune system to stop attacking food allergens, allowing B cells and food allergens to live in harmony again. Food oral immunotherapy (also called OIT) is one method that is currently being studied.

TELL ME SOMETHING NERDY

With OIT, a patient comes into the allergy clinic, where they eat a tiny amount of the food allergen with close monitoring. If they do well, they keep eating this same amount at home. Over the course of months, they return to the allergy clinic to increase the amount. Researchers are still studying different protocols to increase the safety and success of OIT, but studies in children so far show many of them become less reactive to their allergens, an exciting development for patients with food allergies!

Cartoon published in the March 2024 Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anai.2023.10.010