Spring 2008
PDF Version
Treatment May Prevent Allergic Reactions to Food
Currently the only advice doctors can give to the estimated 12 million Americans who have food allergies is to avoid the food and carry a self-injectable dose of epinephrine in case they accidentally consume the allergenic food. As a result, thousands of people rush to emergency rooms every year suffering severe allergic reactions to food. As many as 200 people die from allergic reactions to food each year.
Researchers at National Jewish are hoping to change that by feeding allergic people increasing doses of peanut and egg protein to see if they can induce the participants’ immune systems to tolerate the foods. Allergists have long used a different form of immunotherapy, also known as allergy shots, to reduce their patients’ sensitivity to pollen, cat and dog dander, and dust mites.
Under close observation by National Jewish physicians and staff, study participants will start by consuming tiny amounts of either egg or peanut protein. Over the course of several months, participants will slowly ramp up the amount of protein they consume until they reach a “maintenance dose.” They will then continue taking the maintenance dose for one to three years. Participants will be tested for their reactions to the foods after reaching the maintenance dose and shortly after ending the immunotherapy.
“We hope these trials will provide the first active, preventive treatment for food allergies,” said pediatric allergist David Fleischer, MD, principal investigator for the National Jewish studies. “If successful, it would offer great hope for allergic patients and their families, whose lives are haunted by a daily fear of food.”
National Jewish is participating in this research as part of the Consortium of Food Allergy Research, a network of academic medical centers funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
