Caregiver perceptions and attitudes associated with oral immunotherapy on social media

Background: Caregiver values and preferences with regard to oral immunotherapy (OIT) for treatment of food allergies are not widely reported. Understanding caregiver perspectives is integral to establishing shared decision-making in the treatment of food allergy. Objective: We aimed to understand caregiver opinions that may influence caregivers in their decisions about OIT through social media. Methods: We searched a popular parenting web site for posts related to OIT from December 2008 to September 2019. We applied a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses framework to review posts for inclusion, performed thematic content analysis to determine common themes, and calculated frequencies for each theme and subtheme. Posts and comments were included if they contained discussions about OIT for immunoglobulin E‐mediated food allergy and were excluded if they were duplicates, comments from an original post from the original user, or comments on a nonrelevant original post. Results: Of 1300 posts and comments retrieved, 174 were included (13%). Most were excluded because they did not directly address OIT for food allergy. Relevant posts could fall into multiple themes and were categorized under three main themes: attitudes (n = 128, “I am scared to do OIT but scared not to!”), logistics (n = 168, “We will be doing this once LO [little one] is a little older”), and questions (n = 32, “How does it work?”). Conclusion: Caregivers communicate with each other through social media, expressing attitudes, logistics, and questions about OIT. Understanding these lay perspectives may help guide clinicians in counseling and engage caregivers in decision-making.

Study on the Immunomodulatory Effect of Quercetin Nanoparticles Loaded with Chitosan on a Mouse Model of Ovalbumin-Induced Food Allergy

As a common immune disease, food allergy has become a difficult problem for public health organizations. Food allergies are often accompanied by skin reactions, allergic rhinitis, gastrointestinal diseases, and other complications which can induce anaphylactic shock and even death. However, mechanisms underlying food allergies are not fully understood. Therefore, exploring the mechanism of induction of food allergy is a critical first step toward discovering a future treatment. Here we constructed a quercetin–chitosan nanoplasmid (QT–CS NPs), which can regulate the balance of Th1/Th2 cells, and used it to treat ovalbumin (OVA)-induced allergies in mice. The results suggest that compared to natural quercetin, the cytotoxicity of QT–CS NPs was weakened. QT–CS NPs also increased the expression of the Th1 cytokine INF-γ, reduced the secretion of Th2 cytokine IL-4, regulated the balance drift of Th1/Th2 cells in allergic mice, and demonstrated an excellent immunomodulatory effect. Therefore, QT-CS NPs can provide new treatment ideas for the prevention and treatment of food allergy, and this study can lay an experimental foundation for the clinical application of QT-CS NPs.

Allergen Immunotherapy: Tactic in manipulating food allergen induced anaphylaxis

The pervasiveness of food allergy and associated anaphylactic reactions are proliferating consecutively and the absence of a proper treatment adds to it. Food, both animal as well as plant derived, are presented as the major risk factors. There are several pathways deduced in favour of the food-induced anaphylaxis, ultimately leading to the activation of T-cells. One of the efficient way to solve this issue is allergen immunotherapy that involves the administration of small doses of modified allergen content and increasing the dose geometrically until tolerant level is achieved. The present treatment includes the symptomatic treatment just though a perpetual fix can be accomplished through the immunotherapy. It focus on the development of innate and adaptive immunity and further acts as a shield to prevent recurrent episodes of anaphylaxis. Specific allergen induced immunotherapy can induce a response that can benefit up to a period of 3 years even after discontinuation of the therapy. Persistent advancement of immunology and bioengineering improves understanding diagnostics. Oral and subcutaneous routes are mostly exploited for the allergen immunotherapy. There is also a need to shed more light on the availability of a standardized allergen extract for the specific treatment of food allergy. Additional research on possible pathogenesis/ pathways and newer route of administration can lead to more safe and efficient treatment methodology.