- In the last decade, the cases of food allergies have doubled
- 6–8% of children having a proven food allergy
- Up to 1 in 5 allergic people suffer a serious debilitating disease and are in fear of death from a possible asthma attack or anaphylactic shock
On Tuesday 29 November, SCI’s Evening Lecture will look at the world of food allergies. The lecture will be delivered by Prof Gideon Lack, Professor of Paediatric Allergy at King’s College London. Prof Lack will share information from his most recent research into child allergies before taking a broader look at all allergies.
Consumption as a possible prevention strategy?
The LEAP (Learning Early About Peanut Allergy) study led by Prof Gideon Lack, and published in the New England Journal of Medicine, is the first study to show that consumption is an effective strategy to prevent food allergy, contradicting previous recommendations.
The LEAP study was a randomised controlled trial, enrolled 640 children aged 4-11 months who were considered at high-risk of developing peanut allergy due to pre-existing severe eczema and/or egg allergy. The study found that less than 1% of children who consumed peanuts and completed the study developed peanut allergy by 5 years of age, compared with 17.3% of those who avoided peanut consumption.
About the Speaker
Gideon Lack is Professor of Paediatric Allergy at King’s College London and Head of the Clinical Academic Paediatric Allergy Service at Guy’s & St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. He is a member of the MRC-Asthma UK Centre in Allergic Mechanisms of Asthma.
Having completed his medical degree and senior house officer appointments at the John Radcliffe in Oxford, he spent four years specialising in paediatric allergy and immunology in Denver, Colorado. Over the past 10 years, he has worked at St Mary’s Hospital London where he ran the Department of Paediatric Allergy and Immunology.
Prof Lack’s research has focused on the prevalence or food allergies in children and the relationship between food allergies, eczema and asthma.
Date: Tuesday 29 November 2016
Venue: SCI HQ, 15 Belgrave Square, London SW1X 8PS
Time: Reception opens at 18.00 and the lecture starts at 18.30. There will be an opportunity to meet the speaker after the lecture at a drinks and networking reception.
Contact: SCI Marketing, E: scimarketing@soci.org, T: +44 (0)207 598 1562
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