THE ROLE OF COMPONENT-BASED DIAGNOSTICS IN HAZELNUT ALLERGY TESTING

Background
Allergies have become a widespread disease in all parts of the world. Allergic diseases affect nearly 30% of the population in Hungary, of which food allergies account for a significant proportion. In this paper we analyzed the prevalence of hazelnut allergy.

Material and methods
In the present study, the sensitivity to hazelnut, a specific and otherwise heathy food component, was investigated comparing it with the self-reported symptoms of the participants, and Component-Resolved Diagnostic (CRD) method. In the study a total of 229 persons were included, 87 men and 142 women.

Results
Molecular allergy testing showed some serum immunoglobulin E level elevation related to hazelnut in 20 participants of which 1 individual was asymptomatic but CRD positive for hazelnut. There was positivity in 90% of the cases for the component Cor a 1, which is perhaps a consequence of a cross-reaction to the homologous component Bet v 1 of birch pollen. In 10% of cases, sensitization to components of Cor a 8 was found, which may be a consequence of cross-reactivity to the lipid transfer protein (LTP) component of other foods.

Conclusions
Knowledge of hazelnut sensitization may be important for people affected, as avoiding consumption of raw hazelnut may theoretically prevent the development of hazelnut allergy.