Scientific Journals Publish Work of FAI-Funded Researchers
The results of studies conducted by FAI-funded researchers were published in respected scientific journals this summer.
In July 2009, the results of a national survey of Americans’ perception of food allergies appeared in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. “Members of the general public play a significant role in the well-being of food-allergic children, although little is known about the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs of food allergy among the public,” noted the authors, Drs. Ruchi Gupta, Jacqueline Pongracic, and colleagues (Children’s Memorial Hospital, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago).
In February 2008, the researchers conducted a Web-based survey of 2,148 adults across the country. While the respondents demonstrated a good understanding of the symptoms, severity, and risks associated with food allergies, their knowledge of such issues as treatment, the absence of a cure, and the difference between a food allergy and a food intolerance was poor. As a result, they tended to “minimize the stigma associated with food allergy and to oppose specific food allergy policies in schools.” The authors concluded that “increased food allergy knowledge among the general public is needed. Improved public awareness of challenges faced by food-allergic children may encourage adoption of standardized school policies to keep affected children safe.”
Read an abstract of this study.
Read an article about these findings from msn.com.
This study was sponsored by the Food Allergy Project prior to the organization’s merger with FAI. FAI is currently funding Dr. Gupta’s study of the prevalence of food allergies among American children.
In August 2009, the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology published the preliminary results of an FAI-funded study conducted by Manel Jordana, MD, Ph.D., and colleagues (McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada). Dr. Jordana is testing an experimental therapy that may block the activity of platelet activating factor (PAF), an inflammatory chemical that appears to trigger severe allergic reactions. When the researchers combined this treatment with a therapy that blocks the production of histamine, they were able to prevent anaphylactic reactions in mice that are allergic to peanuts. Treatments that targeted only histamine or inflammatory molecules known as leukotrienes were not successful.
The researchers concluded that “combination therapy blocking both PAF and histamine…may be a potential life-saving therapeutic approach in peanut and, likely, other food-induced anaphylaxis.”
Read an abstract of this study.
Please be sure to visit this site for updates on the progress of these and other gifted researchers who receive funding from FAI.