With a blood test you can predict risks and severity of the allergic reactions to certain foods: a research group of the Bambin Gesù pediatric hospital has put it and will allow you to perform increasingly safe and accurate diagnosis, both for “historical” allergies and emerging

Food allergieswith a new blood test you can identify and monitor risks and severity of the reactions to certain foods. A research group of theBambin Gesù Pediatric Hospital And it will allow you to make increasingly secure and accurate diagnosis, both for “historical” and emerging allergies.

Food allergies, what they are and how much they are widespread

As explained by our Higher Institute of Health (ISS)is defined as food allergy adverse reaction which occurs when the immune system responds specifically and reproducible to exposure to a particular food or its constituents. The definition includes both immune reactions mediated by IGE (class and class immunoglobulins) and those not mediated by IGE, as well as a combination of both.

When a subject presents a food allergy, some substances normally present in food can trigger one Immediate or delayed immune reaction of different gravitydepending on the sensitivity of the individual, whose symptoms, from slight to potentially dangerous for life, can manifest themselves from a few minutes until several hours after taking the food.

All foods can induce allergies and anaphylaxis – We still read on the ISS website – but the classics “big eight“, The eight groups of foods most frequently involved are peanuts, shell fruit, soja, crustaceans and molluscs, fish, milk, eggs, and cereals

There quality of life of individuals with food allergies, especially if with very serious consequences, can be compromised by the continuous need to exclude one or more foods and, despite the availability of numerous national and international studies, it is nevertheless complex to establish the prevalence of food allergies in exactly consideration of age groups and different environmental factors.

Needless to say, perhaps, that this situation, in addition to having a significant impact on the life of patients and their families, implies relevant health costs for both the individual and the national health service.

And on a pediatric level, as we read on the Bambin Gesù website, he is By increasing the incidence and complexity of food allergies which affect children and teenagers: in fact, alongside emerging forms (allergy to insect flours, honey honey or goat milk), there is an increase in those already known as peanut allergy, shell fruit and cow’s milk.

Those with Arachide and milk – underlines Alessandro Fiocchi, head of allergology of Bambin Gesù – remain the most dangerous food allergies, as more associated with serious and potentially fatal reactions such as anaphylaxis. In Italy, unfortunately, there are between 2 and 4 deaths per year for food allergies, especially among young people under 20 years

The new test of the Bambin Gesù

The procedure put precisely by a team of the clinical analysis laboratory, allergology section, ofBambino Gesù Pediatric Hospitalis able to predict with a blood analysis risks and severity of reactions to certain foods.

It is in particular in a Bat testor of a Basophilic activation testa type of white blood cells produced in the bone marrow that release chemicals in response to allergic and inflammatory reactions, such as histamine and heparin.

The procedure does not expose patients to any risk: the test is in fact carried out in vitroon a blood sample, simulating a trigger test in vain. In fact, the cells of the allergic response are isolated, then putting them in contact with the allergen: If the child is allergic, molecules that can be detected and “counted” appear on the surface of these cells.

A timely diagnosis and the specialist taking charge can make the difference in the effective management of allergic disease – explains Fiocchi – – reducing the risk of serious complications and improving the quality of life of children and families. (…) Thanks to this new, important diagnostic tool, we can define the risk profile of each child and identify the most appropriate therapeutic strategy