TRANS-FOODS

Allergic diseases, including atopic dermatitis (AD, also called ‘atopic eczema’) and food allergies (FA), affect over a quarter of all children across Europe.

The immune responses to oral food allergens are well-established, and controlled oral allergen exposure methods in early life have been developed that can prevent FA. However, it is not easy to comply with the repeated oral allergen exposure required to induce tolerance, and additional approaches are therefore needed.

There is mounting evidence that early life cutaneous exposure to foods causes sensitisation, especially in the presence of dry skin and AD. Despite this, very little is known about how the cutaneous sensitisation to FA occurs.