Peanut Allergy Cure Found?

on March 17, 2009 at 11:45 AM

peanut butter If you have a child with food allergies, this news might shock you:

Researchers may be well on their way to discovering a treatment for peanut allergies. Two new studies show that a "medically supervised daily dose of peanuts" over a long period of time may help children with peanut allergy tolerate peanuts. The scary part? Um, I think it's the part about the "daily dose of peanuts"...

It's true that the daily therapy sounds risky. But doctors monitored the children in the studies closely and only gave them one-thousandth of a peanut, gradually increasing the amount only when they were confident they could tolerate it.

In one of the studies (done at Duke University and Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock), 33 kids with peanut allergy received the therapy; currently, most are tolerating the peanuts; four dropped out because they could not tolerate the therapy; and five stopped treatment because after two and a half years they could tolerate peanuts.

The results are inconclusive as to whether these five children have been "cured." Additionally, the treatment is not considered safe enough to preform outside a medical research facility (in other words, DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME). Still, the results are certainly hopeful for parents of kids with peanut allergies; possibly a cure is on the horizon. Can you imagine not having to worry about whether your child is getting sick from accidentally eating a peanut?

What do you think about this? Would you be nervous having your child participate in such a risky study?

About the author Kim Conte

has shoes that make people stop her on the street and ask "Where did you get those?" but it doesn't work for taxi cabs as she was hit by one ... and lived to tell the tale. She has more freckles than Lohan but way less attitude. And she's a fierce cook with tons of recipes to share -- and wishes she could share some with Bourdain.

Filed Under: food, food allergies, food safety

Comments (5)

callmeann

on Mar 17, 2009 at 12:21 PM

What about those kids who get a reaction from airborne peanut essence or whatever it is that affects them from across the room? I guess those are the ones who dropped out.

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absmama

on Mar 17, 2009 at 12:34 PM

Wow! My kids don't have any allergies, but if they did I don't know that I could take that big risk. Steering clear of peanut stuff seems to be the best way to go, even if it is difficult.

SpiderMommy6

on Mar 17, 2009 at 12:58 PM

omg! that would be amazing if it actually worked.
i was dating someone once that was so terribly allergic to peanuts that if they even touched his lips, they would swell up horribly. if he swallowed any at all his throat would close up...
and a couple of times he had to be rushed to the hospital to get his stomach pumped.
once because one of his coworkers had him taste something and didn't mention there were peanuts in it.
its very scary.

Alisha132

on Jan 11, 2011 at 12:30 AM

The peanut allergy is one of the most serious allergy. It is estimated to be involved in as many as 80% of fatal or near fatal allergic reactions every year. The exact cause of the peanut allergy is unknown, although the biological process that creates an allergic reaction is well understood. No one can tell the exact cause.

Nonmember comment from Jael

on May 13, 2012 at 6:12 PM

I once read or saw something about this person who over time, he would make these venomous creatures (bees/spiders/scorpions, not sure but I THINK it was spiders) poison him and built up his immunity and then took off his clothes and got in a box full of them for like 48 hours, and was okay. He did this All. By. Himself. So I should think a team of doctors in a hospital would be able to help kids gain immunity with their treatment!