leptin and Milk-Hypersensitivity

To assess nutrient intake, growth and nutritional status of infants with cow's milk allergy (CMA) who follow a therapeutic elimination diet since the first few months of life.. Sixty infants younger than four months of age with challenge-proven CMA and 60 healthy age-matched children were investigated. Anthropometric and body composition (BC) were assessed up to 24 months. Dietary intake was recorded by the parents for three consecutive days before visits at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months. Blood albumin, prealbumin, retinol binding protein and metabolic-related hormones were examined at 24 months.. The average age at enrolment was 2.9 ± 1.0 months. At the end of the follow-up, there were no differences in daily milk consumption, nutrient intake, weight and height z scores or BC measures between the groups; however, the plasma leptin level was lower in infants with CMA (1.67 ± 1.03 vs 2.05 ± 1.48) (ng/mL) (p < 0.05) compared to healthy children.. Children with CMA who followed an elimination diet could achieve a normal nutritional status, except for relatively lower plasma leptin levels, at the age of 2. Further studies with larger cohorts and research on the long-term consequences of these early differences are needed.

Topics: Anthropometry; Body Composition; Case-Control Studies; Child, Preschool; Eating; Female; Growth; Humans; Infant; Leptin; Male; Milk Hypersensitivity

We aimed to assess the possible relationship between food allergy and two key adipokines - leptin and adiponectin - in children with food allergy. A total of forty patients with definite diagnosis of food allergy according to clinical history and specific IgE (sIgE) for food allergens (group I) were enrolled in this pilot study. The control group (group II) included thirty children with no evidence of allergic symptoms. Serum levels of leptin and adiponectin were measured by ELISA. Meanwhile, sIgE was measured for the eight most common food allergens by the immunoblot method in all participants. The median ages in groups I and II were 18·5 and 23·5 months, respectively. The respective Caesarean section rate was 64·9 and 16·7 % in groups I and II (P<0·001). Serum levels of adiponectin were significantly higher in the patient group compared with controls (24·11 (sd 12·14) v. 10·67 (sd 12·23) μg/ml, P<0·001), whereas no statistically meaningful difference was detected in serum leptin concentrations (P=0·92). There was a significant inverse relationship between age and adiponectin levels in group I (P=0·002, r -0·479) and group II (P=0·04, r -0·365), and it was more significant in group I. The most common allergens in the patient group were wheat (52·5 %), hazelnut (52·5 %), cow's milk (50 %) and egg white (30 %). The results of this study suggest an essential link between adiponectin and food allergy that is probably unlikely to be affected by obesity as a confounding factor.

Topics: Adiponectin; Allergens; Animals; Birth Weight; Case-Control Studies; Cesarean Section; Child, Preschool; Corylus; Cytokines; Egg Hypersensitivity; Egg White; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Female; Food Hypersensitivity; Humans; Immunoglobulin E; Infant; Inflammation; Leptin; Male; Milk; Milk Hypersensitivity; Pilot Projects; Skin Tests; Triticum