Non-IgE mediated gastrointestinal Allergy in neonates and infants, 4 clusters of the patients and their diagnosis and treatment procedures

Abstract

Number of clinical reports about non-IgE-mediated gastrointestinal food allergies is abruptly increasing in Japan since the late 1990's. However, unlike the case of IgE-mediated food allergy, development of diagnostic laboratory tests and our understanding of the immunological mechanisms involved in non-IgE-mediated gastrointestinal food allergies lag. Although the clinical entities in Western countries have been well established, the clinical phenotypes are somewhat different in Japanese patients when compared with these of Western countries, and clinicians have sometimes experienced confusion. Aiming at solving this problem, we performed clinical research and determined a useful method for dividing patients into four clusters with distinctive clinical symptoms. In this review paper, we will explain about tips for diagnosis and treatment procedure of these four subgroups.