Researching new peanut allergy medications
Experimental drug shows promise
In millions of people, peanuts and their byproducts can provoke allergic reactions so severe that they kill. The lips and airways can swell and close off. Blood pressure can drop. Unless treatment is immediate, the patient may not make it.
Using an experimental drug injected once a month, medical researchers have blunted peanut allergies, protecting people from reacting so violently that their lives could be threatened if they accidentally ate as little as a fraction of a peanut.
The new medication could help most people with peanut allergies avoid life-threatening allergic reactions, according to a report in the March 14, 2003 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. A research team led by Donald Leung, M.D., PhD of National Jewish Medical and Research Center, and Hugh Sampson, M.D. of Mount Sinai School of Medicine, found that treatment with an anti-IgE antibody raised the average level at which study participants began reacting to peanuts from about half a peanut to almost 9 peanuts.
Blocking IgE is considered a major advance because it inhibits the allergic response at an earlier stage than other medicines, effectively stopping it before it begins. A slightly different anti-IgE molecule has shown promise in treating severe hay fever and asthma.
"Anti-IgE therapy is not a cure for peanut allergy," said Dr. Sampson. "We believe that patients would have to continue the injections for the benefits to persist and they still would need to be careful about what they eat. But, because the amount they could consume without serious reaction would be greatly increased, the fear of accidental ingestion that detracts from quality of life for many patients would be eliminated. These are very promising results."
At this point, the date when medication will be available to the public is uncertain. Additional research may be required.
Researchers working on a peanut allergy vaccine
A Johns Hopkins team has been working on a peanut allergy vaccine, so far tested successfully on mice. The vaccine uses the gene for the main peanut allergen, called Arah2. It's transported into the body via the digestive system, where it provokes an antibody response. The Hopkins team gave mice the vaccine, then induced a peanut-allergic response in them. The vaccine appeared to protect the rodents from serious harm. Researchers caution that the vaccine is a long way off from being tested on humans.
A recent study surveyed teens and children about their feelings regarding living with food allergies.
Click here for a summary of the findings
