Hot Topics in Food Allergy Diagnosis

Food allergy prevalence has increased in the past few decades and currently affects about 8% of children and 3% of adults. The gold-standard for the diagnosis is oral food challenge, which involves exposure to the suspected allergen and possible allergic reactions of unpredictable severity. The diagnostic tests have traditionally been based on detection of allergen-specific IgE, which can have a high rate of false-positives and new tests have been developing to improve the diagnostic accuracy and reduce oral food challenges.

This research topic will cover novel aspects and perspectives on key areas of food allergy diagnosis. From fundamental science to clinical practice, we aim to collect articles written by key opinion leaders and experts in the field of food allergy diagnosis.

We are interested in review articles on the following topics:

1. Food allergy around the world
2. The life course of food allergy
3. Immune mechanisms of food allergy
4. Structure of food allergens and ligand binding: relevance for diagnosis
5. Potential Allergenicity of emerging foods (including edible insects)
6. Impact of food processing and allergen concentration in allergic reactions to foods
7. Hidden and rare allergens
8. Component testing applied to skin prick test and cellular tests
9. B cell epitopes and T cell epitopes in profiling of food allergic patients
10. Generalisability of diagnostic studies (factors influencing the diagnostic utility)
11. Pitfalls of oral food challenges and alternative routes
12. Phenotypes of food allergic patients requiring disease-modifying therapies

We also welcome original articles on novel aspects of food allergy diagnosis.