Megan Lewis

• Florida Atlantic University

Background: Oral immunotherapy (OIT) aims to increase the reaction threshold to a food allergen and decrease the risk of a potentially life-threatening allergic reaction in the event of an accidental ingestion. While single-food OIT is the most extensively studied, data on multi-food OIT are limited. Objective: Our study aimed to examine the saf...

Background Multiple reviews have identified a lack of evidence-based treatments for excessive anxiety in the context of food allergy (FAA) as an unmet need. Objective This study examined the feasibility, acceptability, and proof-of-concept of Food Allergy Bravery (FAB), a brief, novel, manualized cognitive behavioral-based intervention for anxiety...

Background Anxiety can be excessive and impairing in children with food allergy (FA). There is no accepted, condition-specific measure of anxiety for this population. Objective To evaluate the validity and reliability of new, child- and parent-rated measures of FA-related anxiety in youth. Methods Items for the Scale of Food Allergy Anxiety (SOFA...

Capsule summary: This Paradigms and Perspectives article discusses recommendations for the identification and evidence-based psychotherapeutic treatment of disordered anxiety in the context of severe pediatric food allergies.

Background & aims: Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is caused by an immune response to specific food allergens. There are no approved therapies beyond avoidance of the allergen(s) or treatment of inflammation. Epicutaneous immunotherapy (EPIT) reduces features of eosinophilic gastrointestinal disease in mice and pigs. We performed randomized, placeb...

The prevalence of pediatric food allergies has increased in children by 50% from 1997 to 2011, affecting 1 in 13 children in the United States. Food allergies can have short-and long-term emotional and physical consequences, which may result in challenges for both children and caregivers. Currently, to our knowledge, there are no low-cost, easily a...