Abstracto

Allergy: Effects on Health and Quality of Life

Archana Singh Sikarwar, Yew Mei Yeng

Food allergy has been extensively studied with the advancement of technology and research strategy which gives more insight to the etiology of the condition. The comparative study of various diagnostic and therapeutic methods are crucial to develop a comprehensive management plan for allergic reaction triggered by the accidental food consumption. The diagnosis is based on cumulative results from SPT, IgE titration and oral food challenge. Foodinduced allergic reaction and immunotherapy provides an alternative to the use of symptoms-relieving anti-histamine injector. Long term study is needed to evaluate the efficacy of OIT since it is yet to be concluded that the therapy induces permanent tolerance or simply short-term desensitization to the food. Phase II clinical trial should be carried out for the complementary medicine approach. Latest discovery of using interferon-gamma for tolerance induction was enlighten, but its mechanism and other strategy to prolong the tolerance effect remained to be elucidated. Multiparameter study should be included in future therapeutic study, which may include genetic analysis, histological examination, proteomics and bioinformatics, to assess the pathophysiology and the changes at the molecular, cellular and histological level in order to better equipped us towards diagnosis and management of the condition