BAT II Study version 1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Basophil activation test to diagnose food allergy
IRAS ID
197886
Contact name
Reza Razavi
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
6 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
The symptoms of food allergy (FA) result from the release of certain substances by cells of the immune system, called mast cells and basophils, triggered by the interaction between allergy antibodies and food allergens. FA is often diagnosed using skin prick test or by detecting IgE (allergy antibodies) in the blood. However, more common than being food allergic is to have a positive allergy test to that food. For example, only 1 out of 5 children with a positive allergy test to peanut in the United Kingdom has peanut allergy. In the equivocal cases (more than 50% of patients), an oral food challenge (OFC) is required. OFC consists in giving the patient the suspected food in a controlled environment to see whether the patient develops an allergic reaction. OFC are quite expensive, time-consuming and place the patient at risk of a potentially severe reaction, but this is currently the gold-standard for the diagnosis of FA. In my MRC-funded PhD project, I developed a new blood test called the basophil activation test (BAT) that works like an OFC in a test tube. BAT to peanut showed 97% accuracy in the diagnosis of peanut allergy and reduced the need for OFC by two thirds. In this project I will develop similar diagnostic tests for cow's milk and egg allergies, which are the most common food allergies in childhood, and for sesame and cashew, which are two of the foods that most commonly require OFC as conventional allergy tests fail to diagnose allergy correctly. Study participants will undergo OFC and allergy testing which will include taking a sample of blood. I anticipate that BAT will lead to a significant improvement of care for allergic patients and will reduce the costs and anxiety associated with OFC.
REC name
London - Westminster Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/LO/0296
Date of REC Opinion
19 Apr 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion