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Researchers develop new method to evaluate food allergy treatments

Category: Allergy Testing

Individuals who have received blood tests indicating they are allergic to certain foods have more to worry about than just that specific item. Certain allergies are known as cross-reactive, which means that exposure to one trigger may set off a reaction to other types substances.

Cross-reactive allergies can be very dangerous, as they often expose intolerances that people were previously unaware of. In order to develop more effective treatments for these types of allergies, a team of researchers from the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science developed a model of cross-reactive allergies in mice.

The investigators said that no effective treatments currently exist for these types of intolerances. Their new model could help to change this by enabling researchers to assess the effectiveness of experimental medications. In particular, it is now possible for scientists to develop and test vaccines against allergies.

The development of the mouse model comes at an important time. About 4 to 8 percent of children have food allergies, but evidence suggests that this number has increased significantly in recent years.