National Jewish Health researchers developed a noninvasive skin tape sampling method to identify early predictors of food allergies in newborns.
RT’s 3 Key Takeaways:
- Researchers at National Jewish Health have discovered early predictors of food allergies in newborns by using a noninvasive skin tape sampling technique, which collects superficial proteins and lipids from the skin without causing discomfort.
- The study followed children from the age of 2 months to 2 years, identifying early signs of atopic dermatitis and food allergies through the analysis of abnormal lipids and proteins found on the skin.
- This research has led to the development of a lipid cream aimed at preventing these abnormalities, part of an ongoing effort to prevent food allergies and atopic conditions in infants, with National Jewish Health recruiting for a study named SEAL (Stop Eczema and Allergy).
Researchers at National Jewish Health have identified early predictors of food allergies in newborns using a noninvasive skin tape sampling technique.
In a study just in the Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology, skin tape strips were collected from the forearms of newborns at the age of 2 months, an age before there are any signs of food allergies. National Jewish Health researchers developed the skin tape sampling technique, which is non-invasive and gentle for these very young patients.
A New Approach to Early Detection
The superficial proteins on the skin and the lipids bind to the tape, and then the tape is extracted to study the details of what is found on the skin. Children were clinically monitored until they reached 2 years of age to see if allergies would develop.
“We know that the immune system underneath the skin alters the skin barrier. With our painless skin tapes, we know if proteins sitting on the surface of the skin are abnormal,” says Evgeny Berdyshev, PhD, a researcher at National Jewish Health and first author of the study, in a release. “If there were abnormal lipids and abnormal proteins on the skin, that is an early sign of what can eventually lead to atopic dermatitis and food allergies.”
Donald Leung, MD, head of the division of pediatric allergy and immunology in the Department of Pediatrics at National Jewish Health, and senior author of the study, adds in a release, “Ultimately, we want to identify people at risk for food allergy and address skin barrier abnormalities early to prevent the development of these conditions. This is just the first step. We now have a biomarker for atopic dermatitis and food allergy—the abnormality is abnormal lipids, microbes, and proteins.”
Toward Prevention and Treatment
Researchers are now testing newborn babies to determine whether this abnormality can be prevented.
“We put a lipid cream on the skin of the study participants, so it hopefully can penetrate the skin and infuse it with fatty acids. We are working to develop an anti-inflammatory cream as a result of this study,” says Leung in a release.
Researchers at National Jewish Health are currently recruiting expectant mothers and babies 0-12 weeks old for participation in the ongoing study. National Jewish Health is one of four sites worldwide for this study, called SEAL which means “Stop Eczema and Allergy.”
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