Immunotherapy for Food Allergy

The past two decades have witnessed an increase in prevalence of food allergy that has been matched with a tremendous progress in research that has led to better understanding of pathogenic mechanisms and development of novel therapies for food allergy. Establishment of murine models of peanut and cow's milk allergy has been extremely useful in investigating food allergy treatments. Diverse strategies for prevention and treatment of established food allergy are being evaluated. Anti-IgE antibody therapy, Chinese herbal medicines, and killed bacteria expressing modified major peanut allergens represent the most promising approaches that will lead to development of therapy for patients for whom no effective treatment is currently available.