Keean Amiri-Razavian
Promising Research
Jack and Tessa, ages eight and nine respectively, woke up every day wondering if
what they ate that day would end up killing them. Their food allergies were so severe that
an allergic reaction could kill them. Tessa’s allergies led to fearing leaving her mother
and becoming withdrawn in school. She would not touch anyone or anything. It was an
everyday struggle for Jack and Tessa, along with their parents. Dr. Kari Nadeau would
help would fix their problems. Nadeau, an associate professor of allergies and
immunology at Stanford University School of Medicine, created a breakthrough
treatment known as oral immunotherapy. Nadeau began by giving Jack and Tessa tiny
doses of their allergens everyday, increasing the dosage over time. After a few years of
treatment Jack and Tessa were allergy free. Nadeau’s treatment is just one of many
advancements in food allergy research(Thernstrom 2013). Food allergy research has
found numerous treatments that can potentially hinder the effects of allergies. In addition,
research is be using used to discover the reasons behind allergies along with sociological
trends in allergies. Problems do exist in every treatment known currently, unfortunately.
Nonetheless, research has to potential to help millions of Americans with a terrifying
condition.
Allergies affect nearly 8.2 million Americans. An allergy is caused when the
allergen is identified as an attacker by the body, which then release antibodies. The
antibodies then cause histamines to release into the bloodstream. Nadeau used this
against the allergies in her treatment. Oral Immunotherapy had already been successful in
people with only one allergy but Jack and Tessa had many allergies causing a new
problem for Nadeau. This was a new research opportunity for Nadeau to create a multiallergen desensitization trial. Nadeau wanted to see if someone could desensitize multiple
allergens at the same time or whether they had to be desensitized individually. Tessa
started with just one milligram of each of her allergens. By the end of the treatment, she
had been eating four to six grams of each of the allergens. After over a year Tessa had
become officially desensitized to all of her allergies. She became the first person to go
through a successful multi-allergen desensitization trial (Thernstrom 2013).
Desensitization has been successful with many foods and has a high success rate. Foods
such as grains, nuts, milk, and eggs have all been successful in trials and have had
seventy to eighty percent of patients see successful results.
Problems still exist with Oral Immunotherapy. Researchers still must find the
effective dosage and time frame for the treatment. They must also see if Oral
Immunotherapy can work on a large number of patients. (Food Allergy Research &
Education). Furthermore, none of the patients are actually cured. Researchers have only
developed a tolerance to the allergens; the patients still have to take doses every day. If
they do not they may become sensitive to the foods once again. The biggest problems that
can occur with desensitization are the allergic reactions that can occur when taking doses.
Jack would still experience some asthma attacks, rashes, and stomach pains even after his
last up dose. Nonetheless, Jack would eventually overcome his allergies and the positives
of Oral Immunotherapy clearly outweigh the negatives (Thernstrom 2013).
Dr. Hugh Sampson is using OIT (Oral Immunotherapy) to find a way to induce
tolerance to milk for children. His idea is radically different than previous OIT trials as
Dr. Sampson is looking to cure the child of the allergy, whereas previous trials only
desensitized the child. He and his team are currently using OIT, in addition to humanized
monoclonal anti-IgE antibodies, which bind to IgE antibodies in one’s body, to see if
combining the two will become a safer way to treat milk allergies along with building a
tolerance for the allergen. There certainly is promise with this treatment for other
allergens. Currently, the anti-IgE, Omalizumab, has been approved for clinical testing.
Testing has not met its goal and no definite outcome has come from it yet, though
scientists believe it may provide some useful outcomes from those with allergies.
Another type of treatment that has emerged recently is sublingual
Immunotherapy. It is very similar to Oral Immunotherapy except that the allergen is
dissolved in a solution, which is then placed under the tongue. It is a very safe treatment
that allows the patient to stay home rather than go to the doctor for an injection. The
World Health Organization has even endorsed it as an alternative to Oral
Immunotherapy. Though sublingual immunotherapy has not been as effective as OIT,
“many published scientific studies have shown that it significantly reduces allergy
symptoms” (Johns Hopkins Sinus Center). Other treatments are using more traditional
medicines in the search for allergy treatment.
Dr.Xiu-Min Li, along with his team of researchers, is developing a treatment
known as Food Allergy Herbal Formula-2 (FAHF-2) after increasing scientific evidence
showed the effectiveness of Chinese medicine. The formula comes from the traditional
herbal formula, Wu-Mei-Wan, which has been used for centuries in treating parasitic
infections and food allergy-like symptoms. Early trials have proven the safety of FAHF-2
and it’s effectiveness in preventing a reaction in an animal model of peanut allergy. The
FAHF-2 had diminished the activity of the cells that specialize in the inflammatory
process (Food Allergy Research & Education). This means that cells would no longer
activate during an allergic reaction. This treatment has now entered clinical trials and
trials must be done before the effectiveness of the treatment can be determined. Though
clinical trials have been a major source of research, they are not the only type of research
that is being done.
Another type of research being done currently has the goal of finding the
scientific and environmental reasons behind allergies. Finding the reasons behind
allergies may be very helpful in preventing allergies in future generations. Currently The
Learning Early About Peanut (LEAP) clinical trial is confronting the question of whether
avoidance or exposure to peanuts can help in building tolerance in infants. Answering
such a question can “drive future recommendations on peanut exposure”(Miller,Brown,
& Hawlyer 2012 p9). The Leap trial is expected to provide definitive answers on how to
manage and prevent peanut allergies.
Not only is research being used to prevent allergies, they are being used to
sociological trends in allergies. Dr. Ruchi Gupta has already completed a grant that
compares allergies between children living in rural and urban areas. Gupta concluded that
urban children have a significantly higher chance of getting an allergy than rural children.
The study also found the states with the highest allergy prevalence. Furthermore, his
study found that the allergies were equally severe regardless of the geographic location.
The study, which concluded in 2012, was the first to map allergies based off of
geographic location. Gupta also did a study in 2011 that collected information on 38,000
families and the food allergies the may have. Gupta ended up finding the more than a
third of the children in the study had severe allergies. He also found a correlation between
race and allergies. He concluded that Asian and African American children had a higher
chance of having a food allergy than white children(Food Allergy Research &
Education). His studies may have important implications. Finding trends in food allergies
can help create new questions or theories about food allergies. For example, by finding
that Asian and African American children have higher chances, researchers can than see
if this is because of a hereditary reasons or is because of a certain life style.
Lastly, though the developed world has learned much about the prevalence of
food allergies, the third world has not gained such knowledge. A study done by the Food
Research and Development Centre, shows the concerns that occur because of this
ignorance. The study concluded that the limited data in third-world countries could
prevent a correct diagnosis, as food allergy symptoms are similar to malnutrition. The
Centre concluded that understanding the correlation to nutrition is becoming more
important in order to ensure the safety of the people in disadvantage communities. They
go even further to say that “large, well-designed epidemiological studies are needed so
that the scale of the problem can be understood, public awareness can be increased and
important food allergens can be identified”(Boye 2012).
Food allergy research is by no means a completed study. Many problems still
exist in today’s treatment and studies. There is still no cure for allergies and the genetic,
environmental, and socioeconomic factors behind allergies are still a mystery. Still, there
have been great strides in research in just the last few years. With a plethora of new
research being completed as well as new treatments that can help curb allergic reactions
show the potential in research. Food allergy research has the potential to make ground-
breaking breakthroughs that will not only help us understand allergies better, but also
help prevent them.
Work Cited
Boye, J. I. (2012, December 20). Food allergies in developing and emerging economies: Need
for comprehensive data on prevalence rates. Clinical and Translational Allergy.
Retrieved November 22, 2013, from http://www.ctajournal.com/content/2/1/25
Food Allergy Research & Education. (2013, November 22). Food Allergy Research &
Education. Retrieved from http://www.foodallergy.org/research/overview
Food Allergy Research & Education. (n.d.). Food Allergy Research & Education. Retrieved
from http://www.foodallergy.org/research/research-grants
Miller, D. S., Brown, M. P., & Hawley, J. D. (2012). Medscape Log In. Medscape Log In.
Retrieved November 22, 2013, from http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/777380_12
Sublingual Immunotherapy. (n.d.). Retrieved November 22, 2013, from Sublingual
Immunotherapy
Thernstrom, M. (2013, March 7). The Allergy Buster Can a Radical New Treatment Save
Children With Severe Food Allergies? NY Times. Retrieved November 22, 2013, from
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/magazine/can-a-radical-new-treatment-savechildren-with-severe-allergies.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=magazine