The uKnow Peanut Test, Phadia‘s peanut allergen component test, is now commercially available in the US through the Phadia Immunology Reference Laboratory (PiRL®). FDA clearance of the individual peanut component tests, announced in May 2011, brings these in vitro allergy tests to clinicians nationwide. The uKnow Peanut Test reports specific IgE results to five FDA-cleared peanut allergen components in addition to carbohydrate cross-reactive determinants, a laboratory developed test.
With the uKnow Peanut Test, physicians can detect the allergic sensitization to the specific allergen components within the whole peanut to help assess the risk that a patient will experience a severe anaphylactic reaction upon exposure to peanut.
Current literature available on peanut allergy points to the protein Ara h 2 as one of the key culprits in producing anaphylaxis. Sensitization to some other proteins within the peanut may not be as relevant to the risk of more severe allergic reactions. In addition, symptoms due to cross-reactivity to allergens such as birch pollen can often mimic sensitization to peanut when traditional diagnostic testing using the whole peanut extract is performed.
The uKnow Peanut Test will be available exclusively through PiRL.
Source: Phadia
