Allergy Cure
Feb 20 2009 in All Site Articles, Food Allergy News by Ruth LovettSmith
It’s been a heavy headline week regarding peanuts. Between the recent recalls and what is being dubbed a possible peanut allergy cure, newspapers are now reporting on recent peanut desensitization trials.
This is something we’ve known about at Best Allergy Sites for a while but have sat on due to the fear of causing a misconception regarding what this really means. But now that the cat is out of the bag, we thought we’d weigh in.
There currently are trials being done for peanut allergy desensitization. Some involve ingesting a small amount of peanut flour working up towards actual peanuts. Others involve sublingual immunotherapy-drops of peanut protein placed under the tongue over a period of time. Both aim to desensitize the patient to peanut protein so that he or she can ingest small amounts without a reaction.
Sublingual immunotherapy is currently being done at Duke University with an expected trial completion date of December 2010.
Per our discussion with an allergist, this does work and looks promising. However, it is not FDA approved. There is still a high anaphylaxis rate in the severely allergic. The kinks still need to be worked out. It’s our understanding though that allergists are hopeful that this will be available within the next five years.
It’s important to remember that this is not a peanut allergy cure. It’s merely creating a tolerance so that peanut allergy sufferers can worry less about cross contamination or accidental ingestion of small amounts of peanut protein.
Bottom line-do not read these headlines/articles and assume that you can give yourself or your child small amounts of peanut to desensitize him or her. This is something currently done in medical trials only and under the close supervision of medical professionals.
To learn more about these studies/trials, see the links below.
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00429429
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7899383.stm
http://www.cambridgenetwork.co.uk/news/article/default.aspx?objid=56692
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Jennifer B said on February 20, 2009
Yes, the headlines are SO enthusiastic,you can imagine someone trying to do it on their own. These trials are encouraging but are in the earliest stages…
Great info in this post!! Thanks for the links!
Ruth LovettSmith said on February 20, 2009
Thanks Jennifer B for stopping by! I agree-if it’s one thing we can do, it’s to remind people NOT to try this at home.
SusanWeissman said on March 15, 2009
Thanks for breaking it down!
Susan said on March 15, 2009
Thanks for posting this.
There is a pediatric allergist in Dallas who is doing this in his office (started with dairy and eggs, then began peanuts in January).
My daughter’s allergist said he spoke with some of the people doing the trials and they did not feel it was safe to do in an office yet.
The parents I’ve spoken with who have kids who have done the egg and dairy program swear it’s made a huge difference as their kids now eat dairy and eggs, but I haven’t heard anything firsthand from parents whose children have been through the peanut program.
Ruth LovettSmith said on March 15, 2009
Thanks SusanWeissman and Susan for stopping by! I hope the article helped to demystify this idea of a “cure”.
While I have no doubt that it works, I want to stress again that it’s not FDA approved. There definitely ARE allergists who are doing this. Our allergist also said he will not offer it until more studies are done.
What the press won’t tell you and what these studies have not stressed, is that there are and have been anaphylactic reactions in these studies. In fact we’ve been told-a high rate of anaphylaxis.
So while some kids come out of it able to eat their allergens, it is possible those children were not as severely allergic as others.
We just want to make sure that parents don’t think this is safe and try it at home. And we want the press to realize that there isn’t currently a cure and more work still needs to be done to promote allergy awareness.
But we do have hope that there will be a cure in the distant future thanks to all of the hard working allergists involved.
Tom said on June 25, 2010
My son did desensitization with my supervision. I am a physician. Progressed over 7 months with very little side effect (gas, cramps) which was preventable if he premedicated with zyrtec. Has gone for as long as 7 days without eating peanut and has no problem. He has progressed slowly to about 5 or 6 peanuts a day. He hates the taste of peanut, but like Reeses pieces of M & M peanut butter. So he’s taking these instead of peanut.
He loves his new found freedom – ability to eat what he wants when he wants. And no more carrying the epipen and inhaler everywhere we go.
I am guessing more docs will do it within 1 year. Not 5 years. My guess is that it is extremely safe, adjustments made for the severity of the child.
My understanding is that if your child has eczema with peanut allergy, it might not be an option for you. But we might be able to define this later.
Ruth LovettSmith said on June 30, 2010
Thank you Tom for the comment and information. I’m glad to hear that your son is doing well.
I am hopeful allergists will be able to start this treatment sooner rather than later–however as you know–there is risk, insurance issues etc. that may prevent many allergists from doing this until it is FDA approved.
Of course it goes without saying–that noone should try this at home unless under the direction or supervision of their own allergist or other medical professional.
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Ruth LovettSmith said on September 7, 2010
Thank you Melodie for stopping by and for commenting.
Denise said on October 12, 2010
I’ve read about the Dallas allergist doing this and I am exploring. I understand that there is risk involved, but as any parent of an allergic child can attest to – every day is a risk and doing nothing but hoping, praying, avoiding, training, planning… can be as risky. I hope that despite the infamous workings of the FDA and their “approval” process that is loaded with lots of questionable motivations and incentives, that this process becomes more widespread. Statistics show that children with food allergies tend to be shorter than their peers – our diet is pretty limited and I obsess over my son’s growth clinging to the arc he started on. So for us being able to not only be free of worrying over even one less food would be a blessing, but also being able to eat it – that’s just a downright miracle.
Go Dr. Wasserman and Tom (physician above). I should have listened to my mom and gone to med school – bec then now I would be able to better help my own son instead of having to wait at the mercy of the FDA and their approval process or travel a thousand miles to get something proactive done.
Ruth LovettSmith said on October 12, 2010
Denise,
Thank you for commenting. It is my hope that treatment will be available in the near future. There are so many current studies and new studies in the works. Allergists keep saying 5-10 years. Hopefully this time they are right. :)