Basophil activation test in pollen food syndrome-version 2
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Basophil activation tests in the diagnosis of peanut allergy in birch-pollen allergic children
IRAS ID
179591
Contact name
Gideon G Lack
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 6 days
Research summary
Pollen-food allergy syndrome (PFS) is a form of local IgE-mediated allergy, usually to raw fruits or vegetables, affecting patients who are allergic to pollen.
Birch PFS to peanut may result from cross-reactivity between the major birch-pollen allergen Bet v 1 and the minor peanut allergen Ara h 8.
Patients with PFS often present with oral allergic syndrome (OAS). Systemic reactions are exceptionnal.
In clinical practice, the diagnosis of birch PFS to peanut is based on the presence of OAS after peanut consumption, positivity of IgE-antibodies (IgE) and/or Skin prick tests (SPT) to both birch pollen and peanut. However, these tools are not good predictors of symptoms and the diagnosis of birch PFS to peanut is particularly difficult to assess in sensitized children without any history of peanut consumption. Thus, oral food challenge remains the gold standard diagnosis but it is time consuming,carry the risk of causing an acute allergic reaction, and needs to be done under medical supervision.
A test that could predict the presence of symptoms after peanut consumption in patients sensitized to both birch pollen and peanut would therefore be useful to avoid an oral food challenge.
Basophil activation test (BAT) is an in vitro-assay in which the expression of activation markers on the surface of basophils is evaluated after stimulation with allergen. Recent data suggest that BAT to peanut and to Ara h 8 could be effective tools in the diagnosis of birch PFS to peanut in patient with both birch pollen and peanut sensitizations.
We aim to assess whether BAT with raw and roasted peanut and Ara h 8 can predict clinical allergy to peanut in children sensitized to both birch pollen and peanut and to compare with the existing diagnostic tests (SPT, IgE) in relation to the gold-standard: oral food challenge.REC name
London - Camden & Kings Cross Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/LO/0912
Date of REC Opinion
15 Jun 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion