It's becoming more and more frequent to discover that allergy is the hidden cause behind chronic inflammatory or autoimmune pathologies. As in the case of rheumatoid arthritis, studies recently revealed that other immune diseases such as vasculitis (among which temporal arteritis and Giant cell arteritis) may depend upon diet or repeated contact with external substances.

Italian version

Since it has been established that delayed food allergies (intolerances) can be the cause of chronic inflammatory forms or of an autoimmune disease, great strides forward have been taken in research and especially clinical application

Furthermore, when it became evident that even adipokine production (originating from adipose tissue in response to meal composition) can induce and maintain many immune pathologies, the topic came to full circle. Today, ignoring the important role of diet in the origin of autoimmune disease is an expression of scientific blindness.

Other scientific news followed, particularly the discovery that severe forms of vasculitis (Horton's arteritis or temporal arteritis) are caused by repeated  antigen contact and the stimulus of the T cells. This information must induce every doctor who is faced with this pathology to consider the various possibilities of repeated antigen stimulus, whether it be bacterial (a previous infection with arteritis expression that seems like reactive arteritis), toxicological  (for example a subclinical mercury intoxication) and especially dietary, the most common cause of incorrect antigen stimulus

A very recent study published in Inflammation (Schaufelberg C et al,  Inflammation. 2008 Oct 31. [Epub ahead of print]) demonstrated that the lymphocyte infiltration present in a lesion identified oligoclonal TCR's (T Cell Receptors), that is, responding to repeated stimulus of an antigen nature, and not related to a general inflammatory activation of the T cells.

In short, it could be possible to successfully treat arteritis in the same way as rheumatoid arthritis and other reactive forms of arthritis by identifying the possible cause of repeated antigen stimulus. In this manner the pathology could be approached at the onset with a significant reaction in inflammation thus allowing for a control of the food antigens that might be involved.

Italian version