The annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology was held from Feb. 28 to March 3 in San Diego, drawing clinicians, academicians, allied health professionals, and others interested in allergic and immunologic disease. The conference highlighted recent advances in the fields of allergy, asthma, and immunology.
In one study, Gail Tan, M.D., of the Baylor College of Medicine Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, and colleagues found that egg and peanut food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome (FPIES) is prevalent, with a substantial increase in cases during the last few years coinciding with the implementation of early food introduction guidelines in 2017.
The authors developed the Southwest FPIES Consortium, which is the largest known FPIES registry to date, to identify risk factors and characterize the natural history of FPIES to improve diagnosis and treatment. The study cohort included 952 patients.
The researchers found that nearly 20 percent of study participants had egg FPIES and 10 percent had peanut FPIES. Patients were predominantly White, non-Hispanic, and privately insured. Comorbid atopy was prevalent in both groups, with 77.3 percent of patients with egg FPIES and 50 percent of patients with peanut FPIES having comorbid atopic conditions. In addition, a subset of patients exhibited both FPIES and immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated allergies to the same food. Nearly 9 percent of patients with egg FPIES had IgE-mediated egg allergies, while 7 percent of patients with peanut FPIES had concurrent IgE-mediated peanut allergies. The median age of first reaction was 8 months for egg FPIES and 7 months for peanut FPIES. Tolerance was achieved in 25.4 percent of patients with egg FPIES at a median age of 31.5 months and in 25 percent of patients with peanut FPIES at a median age of 29 months.
“Further research is needed to investigate the potential association between the rise in egg and peanut FPIES cases and early food introduction guidelines, as well as to better understand the prevalence of patients transitioning from FPIES to IgE-mediated allergies,” Tan said. “Additionally, continued study is necessary to improve diagnostic methods, identify risk factors, and develop standardized management practices for FPIES patients.”
As part of the PEOPLE (PEPITES Open-Label Extension) study, David M. Fleischer, M.D., of Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora, and colleagues found that ongoing treatment with the Viaskin peanut patch shows both efficacy and limited adverse events.
The authors evaluated the long-term efficacy of the Viaskin peanut patch among children who completed 60 months of active treatment as part of the PEOPLE end-of-study. The researchers found that the Viaskin peanut patch improved rates and levels of desensitization, demonstrating improved efficacy over time. The results continue to show that the peanut patch is an extremely safe form of therapy for food allergy. The patch is practical and convenient to use, as illustrated by the high compliance seen with therapy over the time period, according to the researchers.
“We are looking forward to finishing the remaining phase 3 trials this year that will hopefully lead to U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval in 2026,” Fleischer said.
The PEPITES study is sponsored by DBV Technologies, the manufacturer of the Viaskin patch.
Eyal Kristal, M.D., of the Soroka University Medical Center in Beersheba, Israel, and colleagues found that exposure to antibiotics as a newborn is associated with an increased risk for childhood asthma.
The authors aimed to evaluate healthy newborns who received antibiotic treatment due to a maternal factor, allowing them to isolate a single factor: exposure to antibiotic treatment. Specifically, the authors examined electronic medical records of 14,807 healthy full-term children born to mothers with positive group B Streptococcus vaginal culture between 2006 and 2018. This included 311 children who received antibiotic treatment.
The researchers found that after adjusting for other factors and matching between groups, exposure to antibiotics in the first days of life was associated with a 30 percent increased risk for developing childhood asthma when compared with the risk seen in those who did not receive antibiotics after birth.
“These findings highlight that the window of opportunity for asthma prevention begins at a very early age,” Kristal said.
Ianthe Schepel, B.M.B.Ch., of Boston Children’s Hospital, and colleagues found that children who experience food allergies have a high risk for food-allergy related bullying and anxiety.
In a study of 295 parent-child pairs across 27 U.S. states, the authors compared the psychosocial functioning of children and parents who experienced food allergy-related bullying to the psychosocial functioning of their counterparts who did not experience food allergy-related bullying.
The researchers found that food allergy-related bullying is common and associated with increased food allergy-related anxiety and decreased food allergy-related quality of life in both children with IgE-mediated food allergy and their parents. In addition, parents of bullied children reported lower food allergy-related self-efficacy or confidence in managing their child’s food allergy.
“The implications for us as clinicians are twofold. First, in pediatric allergy clinic, it is important to inquire specifically about food allergy-related bullying as it can serve as a marker for other problems with food allergy-related psychosocial functioning in both children and their parents,” Schepel said. “Second, patients would benefit from a streamlined referral pathway to psychological support services with expertise in the mental health challenges associated with food allergy.”
AAAAI: Omalizumab Superior to Oral Immunotherapy in Multifood Allergy
MONDAY, March 3, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Omalizumab is superior to oral immunotherapy for multifood allergy, and most patients include dietary consumption of allergy-triggering foods after gaining tolerance, according to two studies presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, held from Feb. 28 to March 3 in San Diego.
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