Second Genome, King's College London study eczema, food allergies in infants

Second Genome has announced it is partnering with King’s College London to conduct microbiome profiling and analysis for a study in eczema and food allergies in young children.

The Enquiring About Tolerance (EAT) study, is the largest randomized and controlled study of food allergy prevention to date and will investigate skin and gut microbiota of more than 300 infants at multiple points during the first year of life, according to a press release.

“There is mounting evidence that a reduction in microbial exposure in early life is associated with an increased risk of atopic eczema and allergic disease,” Carsten Flohr, MD, of St. John’s Institute of Dermatology at Guy’s and St. Thomas Hospitals and King’s College London, a study researcher, stated in the release.

The study will look into early introduction of allergenic foods into the infant’s diet, and if it can prevent the development of food allergies in children. It also will try to determine whether other main allergic conditions, such as asthma, eczema or hay fever, are preventable under the same approach, according to the release.

A research goal of the study is to determine if a relationship exists between the microbiome and the allergy conditions.

“The microbiome plays an important role in all facets of human health, and profiling children at the early stages of their lives gives us unprecedented insight into how bacterial may influence allergies and inflammatory conditions,” Mohan S. Iyer, chief business officer of Second Genome, stated in the release.

The British Skin Foundation is funding the microbiome research within the EAT study, while the main components of the study are supported through grants from the UK Food Standards Agency, the UK National Institute for Health Research and the UK Medical Research Council. Second Gnome Solutions, a team within Second Genome that provides microbiome research support to external partners, will conduct the research, according to the release.

Reference: www.secondgenome.com