Can food allergy be cured? What are the future prospects?

Food allergies have become a significant heath burden as prevalence continues to rise, affecting 6%-13% of the global population. In the absence of drugs approved by regulatory agencies, the current standard of care remains avoidance of allergenic foods and management of acute allergic reactions with antihistamines and epinephrine autoinjectors. Allergen immunotherapy has been shown to increase the threshold of reactivity in the majority of food-allergic individuals. However, challenges include long treatment periods, high rates of adverse reactions, and lack of permanence of desensitization and established protocols. To address these limitations, adjunctive allergen-specific immunotherapy, vaccines, and non–allergen-specific therapies (eg, monoclonal antibodies) are being explored. The future of food allergy treatment is promising with a number of clinical trials in progress. Currently, although desensitization can be achieved for the majority of individuals with food allergy through immunotherapy, continued ingestion of allergen is needed for most individuals to maintain desensitization. Further understanding of the mechanisms of food allergy and identification of biomarkers to distinguish between temporary and permanent resolution of allergies is needed before a cure, where reactivity to the allergen is permanently lost enabling the individual to consume the allergen in any amount at any time, can be envisioned.     

Subdural motor cortex stimulation in Parkinson's disease does not modify movement-related rCBF pattern.

There has been some evidence that electrical stimulation of the primary motor cortex (MCS) may relieve motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD). This surgical technique is being studied as alternative for PD patients who are considered poor candidates for deep brain stimulation (DBS) of subthalamic nucleus (STN). In 4 PD patients with unilateral MCS, we used [(15)O] H(2)O positron emission tomography to measure changes in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) while testing motor performance with a joystick motor task during different stimulation frequencies, OFF-condition, 50 and 130 Hz. We found that different stimulation settings did neither improve performance on joystick task nor modify the pattern of movement-related rCBF. Similarly, no changes were observed in UPDRS motor score between Off and On stimulation while off medication. We conclude that while MCS may be a simpler and safer surgical procedure than DBS of STN, it failed to provide evidence of clear effect on motor performance and movement-related activation pattern in patients with advanced PD.     

Moraxella lacunata Septic Arthritis in a Patient with Lupus Nephritis

Moraxella lacunata is a rare, usually commensal gram-negative rod most commonly associated with eye infections. We report a unique case of noniatrogenic M. lacunata bacteremia and septic knee arthritis in a patient with class III-IV lupus nephritis and speculate on the association between invasive Moraxella infection and renal impairment.     

Quantitative changes in the fatty acid profile of lipid fractions of fresh loin from pigs as affected by dietary conjugated linoleic acid and monounsaturated fatty acids during refrigerated storage

Three levels (0%, 1% and 2%) of an enriched CLA oil (28% cis-9, trans-11 and 28% trans-10, cis-12 CLA) were combined with two levels of MUFA (low: 19%; high: 39%) for pig feeding. Changes in the amounts of fatty acids of the neutral lipids (NL), polar lipids (PL) and free fatty acids (FFA) fractions of fresh loin as affected by dietary CLA, MUFA and CLA × MUFA during 7 days of refrigeration were studied. Dietary CLA at 2% and MUFA supplementation caused a decrease in SFA, MUFA, PUFA and CLA isomer contents of NL and PL throughout the storage, whereas the increase in FFA during refrigerated storage was less marked with dietary CLA. Release of CLA isomers of NL and PL was lower than that of non-conjugated PUFA. No significant effect of the interaction CLA × MUFA on the change in the contents of most fatty acids (including CLA isomers) of the lipid fractions was found.