Food hypersensitivity

Atopic disorders, which include a number of diseases such as asthma, allergic rhinitis and food allergies affect a large group of the general population particularly in industrialized countries. Due to the increasing prevalence of food allergies, potential severity of reactions and chronicity of some hypersensitivities, they represent a major public heath problem in terms of morbidity and expenses. Detection of newborns at high risk and subsequent preventive intervention in those infants are therefore important. The following review will issue characteristics of food hypersensitivities and will focus on current markers for prediction of atopy and preventive measures usually used. New therapeutic strategies and possible future directions will. as well be discussed. Significant progress has been made in genetic and in immunopathogenesis of this disorder leading to a better understanding of the mechanisms of food allergy, However, further progress in this area would be of interest for prediction of high-risk infants and intervention at an earlier stage. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.