Why Can't They Find a Cure??

It would seem that coming up with a cure for food allergies would have happened by now. But why hasn't it? That's the million dollar question...at least for those of us who are directly affected by it. Here's a link that may answer some of your questions on Speeding the Pace of Research Seeking Cures for Food Allergy and Other Allergic Diseases.

First of all, to understand the cure you must understand why a reaction occurs in the first place. People who are "allergic" to certain foods are simply more sensitive to the allergens found in these foods. Allergic reactions to food result from the actions of a specific groups of proteins called antibodies. Antibodies, an important part of the body's defense system, are activated when the offending food is eaten. Their role is to recognize foreign invaders (antigens)—in this case, allergens—and to get rid of them.

Certain types of antibodies, known as IgE, are more highly reactive, and perhaps more abundant, in people with food hypersensitivity. When IgE antibodies encounter a food allergen to which they are sensitized, they attach themselves onto the food proteins. This attachment causes the immune system to release mediators—chemical messengers that travel through the bloodstream to alert other organs to the presence of an unwelcome protein guest.

To give you more of a "time frame", as per say, cures for a wide range of food allergies are less than a decade away, scientists say. What are they working on? Well, in short, by modifying the proteins in foods that cause the allergic reactions, researchers have created treatments that can safely desensitize the body's immune system to allergic triggers.

Another method being tested is a long-term treatment available for IgE-related allergies, it's a technique called allergen-specific immunotherapy. This involves injecting a patient with the allergen they react to, in a bid to desensitize their immune system. But it is expensive and slow - treatment can often involve regular injections for up to five years. There is also a safety issue - the treatment cannot be used against food allergies because it almost always induces a severe reaction, requiring a dose of emergency medicine after each injection.

So what does it all amount to? While scientists have a basic understanding of how allergies work, they can still be stumped by the immune system, which is too complex to submit easily to their control. Hence the painful delay for us desperate parents.

Well, as for me, I'm keeping my fingers crossed, and hope that they come out with a cure FAST! Because every time I see my daughters skin become red and blotchy after someone who's had something as simple as tea with even a drop of milk in it, kisses her little cheek, it saddens me, and it just goes to show that she's nowhere near outgrowing the allergies even 4 years from the day we first discovered them :(

Kay