What is FPIES?

FPIES is a severe delayed food allergy of the gut, it is understood to be a T-cell mediated response, a Non-IgE Food Allergy in which food is considered a foreign invader and the body fights, or attacks it, until it can violently expel it; although the exact mechanisms are still not well understood.

Symptoms include: profound vomiting (often to bile), diarrhea and/or constipation. These symptoms can quickly lead to: lethargy, low body temperature, low blood pressure and in severe cases, sepsis-like shock. And still yet, many parents report children also experiencing many discomforting symptoms while the body fights this reaction and these can include: extreme stomach pains, excessive gas, runny stools with or without mucus/blood, acid reflux, rashes/eczema, sleep disturbance, and agitation/inconsolable crying.

FPIES is a clinical diagnosis (based on symptoms and history) there is currently no test for it.

This is my definition of FPIES, defined by my own research in: medical journal articles, other families living through FPIES I 'meet' on the support groups and, of course, my own son. You can learn more about my research in FPIES here on this blog, and at The FPIES Foundation website.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Fruit Protein: Another cause of FPIES

I found this article: Fruit Protein; Another cause of FPIES while reading through the previous article I posted about (New FPIES study from Isreal).  It, of course, grabbed my attention because of the commonality of so many kids in the support groups having problems with fruit proteins as much as the common triggers.   

The article describes the documented case of an infant who had a positive, classic reaction to a fruit mixture.   The confirmation was made when the fruits were stopped and symptoms subsided, and then reintroduction elicited an FPIES trigger response.

The concluding paragraph in the article is intriguing for more research, as it spells out some possible connections with fruits due to their plant tissue structures...."The present study clearly shows that also proteins contained in fruits can be responsible of FPIES, which may have a prolonged course. Plant tissues contain thousands of different proteins (5) and it is difficult to identify the culprit antigens. Common related proteins such as nonspecific lipid transfer proteins, which are resistant to proteolysis and thermal treatment, and/or pathogenesis-related proteins might be the antigens responsible for the reaction."

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