Food Allergy 2014: State of the Science

Program Description: This miniseminar includes 3 didactic lectures, an audience-interactive section, and Q&A. The lectures will focus on why food allergies develop by taking a critical look at the latest scientific evidence available in the literature, the role of oral tolerance in human evolution, and the relationship of failure to achieve oral tolerance on the health of the individual, relevant immunology, nonimmunologic food reactions versus immunologic reactions, both IgE-mediated and non–IgE-mediated, current methods of diagnosing food allergies, cutting-edge strategies such as component-resolved testing, skin and in vitro methods versus double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenge. Treatment options for food allergy will also be discussed. Educational Objectives: (1) Evaluate the scientific basis of IgE- and non–IgE-mediated food allergy. (2) Describe the manifestations of food allergy in the head and neck region. (3) Use the currently available treatments for food allergy as well as future directions.