Pathogenesis of IgE-mediated food allergy.

Food allergy is a prevalent disease for which there is no current treatment beyond careful food avoidance. Accidental exposure to foods causes reactions in allergic individuals that can range in severity from mild skin reactions to severe and life-threatening anaphylaxis, and there are no validated tools to predict severity of reactions. A greater understanding of the pathogenesis of food allergy is needed to develop prevention and treatment strategies for food allergy. In the last few years, there have been significant developments in the field of food allergy that have led to new ideas about food allergy prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. This review will discuss these recent advances in the food allergy field as well as identify gaps in our knowledge about the immune mechanisms of allergy and tolerance to foods.