The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology held their 2009 annual meeting in Washington DC March 13-17. They heard Dr. Wesley Burks, chief of the division of pediatric allergy and immunology at Duke University Medical Center, suggest that a treatment for peanut allergy may be developed in two or three years.
In a pilot study at Duke University and Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock, 33 children with peanut allergy have received peanut powder (sprinkled on food) that starts as one-thousandth of a peanut and eventually increases to about 15 peanuts. Most of the children are tolerating the therapy without developing allergic reactions.
The Duke/Arkansas study plans to enroll at least 80 children in the next few years to assess the treatment.
It should be noted that the children in the study were under a high level of medical supervision. Parents should not try this at home.
Check back with www.peanutallergy.com for more information about the Duke/Arkansas Children’s Hospital study and other peanut allergy research projects.
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Food Allergy Assistant
