Learn about our advocacy in Newfoundland and Labrador. Check out what’s new in food allergy research including a new study on the resolution rates of peanut and egg allergy in children, and a study on needle-free epinephrine. Plus, check out this month’s mythbuster on whether a food allergy always develops in childhood.
Act now in Newfoundland and Labrador: Increase access to food allergy diagnosis and treatment
Getting access to a food allergy diagnosis and testing is already limited in Newfoundland and Labrador for the nearly 50,000 families and individuals living with food allergy.
This includes getting access to oral food challenges (OFCs), which are considered the gold standard in confirming a food allergy diagnosis.
Next year, Newfoundlanders and Labradorians will have even a harder time. A recent CBC news article notes that patient access to hospital-based allergy care at Janeway Children’s Hospital in St. John’s will be further reduced as of January 2023.
This reality is unacceptable and needs to be addressed. All Canadians have a right to access proper medical care regardless of where they live. We are calling on the government in Newfoundland and Labrador to improve access to food allergy diagnosis and treatment.
Now is the time to act! Follow these steps:
Email your local government with a click of a buttonTell your local MHA and Tom Osborne, Minister of Health and Community Services, why having increased access to food allergy diagnosis and treatment is important to you and your family.
It’s as easy as 1-2-3! Simply complete our form and a letter will be automatically sent to both of them within seconds.
Take our surveyComplete our 5-minute survey. Your input will help to strengthen our request to the Minister to address the inequitable access to allergy diagnosis and treatment in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Please take the survey by September 23rd.
Visit our campaign section to discover more ways you can help advocate.
Research: Resolution rates of peanut and egg allergy in children
New research examines the natural history of peanut and egg allergy in Australian children ages 1 to 6, who have been participating in HealthNuts, a population-based, longitudinal study of food allergy. Results show that one-third of peanut allergy and the majority of egg allergy resolve by 6 years of age. Further, babies with multiple food allergies and severe eczema at age 1 year are less likely to outgrow their egg and/or peanut allergies at age 6 years.
While the majority of egg allergy cases and a subset of peanut allergy cases do resolve in childhood, the challenge remains in predicting when and in whom tolerance will occur, warranting further research in this area.
Learn more about the concept of thresholds (the maximum amount of a food allergen that a food allergic person can tolerate without triggering an allergic reaction) in our oral food challenges webinar with Dr. Edmond Chan.
Research: Developments in needle-free epinephrine products
Bryn Pharma has announced the completion of their study comparing UTULYTM epinephrine intranasal spray vs 0.3 mg epinephrine auto-injector (EAI) for the treatment of anaphylaxis. The primary objective of the study was to evaluate whether the administration of UTULY and outcomes could be comparable to those seen with the administration of the 0.3 mg EAI. The company plans to present study results at upcoming medical conferences. Read their press release for more information.
“Completion of this study is a key milestone in the evolution of the treatment for anaphylaxis. Our hope is that the clinical trial results from Bryn’s innovative nasal product will support UTULY as an effective, safe and practical alternative to autoinjectors,” said Melinda Braskett, M.D., Associate Medical Director of the Gores Family Allergy Center at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, and Bryn Pharma Scientific Advisor.
Investigation of needle-free options is ongoing, and we’ll continue to share the news on alternative delivery routes for epinephrine.
Mythbuster – Does food allergy always develop in childhood?
FACT: Food allergy can develop at any age, though it tends to occur in childhood. Further, food allergy is more common in young children than in older children or adults; some allergies may be outgrown while others can be lifelong. It is a possibility to develop food allergy in adulthood; fish, crustaceans (e.g. lobster, shrimp) and molluscs (e.g. scallops, clams) are usually described as the most common adult-onset food allergies.
