( pproach called immunotherapy physicia...)Pilot study successful in taming allergic reactions to food

pproach, called immunotherapy, physicians give patients shots containing small amounts of the troublesome allergen in an effort to build their tolerance to it. The therapy works on a cellular level to alter specific immune system cells, called lymphocytes, that play a part in orchestrating allergic reactions and to increase the immune system’s production of antibodies that attack and neutralize allergens, Burks said.

The seven subjects in the study, who ranged from 1 to 7 years of age, had a history of allergic reactions, including hives, wheezing and vomiting, when they consumed eggs or egg products. For safety’s sake, none of the children enrolled had previously experienced a life-threatening allergic reaction, Burks said. As an extra precaution, the subjects received a supply of epinephrine, which is commonly used to treat breathing problems that can occur with food allergy.

Instead of receiving shots, as seasonal allergy sufferers do, the subjects were given small doses of powdered egg orally, mixed in food. “We started the subjects with a very small concentration of egg product -- the equivalent of less than one-thousandth of an egg -- and then we increased the dose every 30 minutes for eight hours in order to determine the highest dose that each subject could tolerate,?Burks said.

The subjects consumed the first doses in the study clinic. The researchers then gave the children’s parents or caregivers a supply of egg product, allocated into the tolerated doses, which the subjects consumed daily at home, mixed with other foods.

The children returned to the clinic every two weeks. At each visit, the researchers increased the subjects?dosages until they reached the equivalent of one-tenth of an egg, Burks said. The children then continued to take this “maintenance dose?daily for the duration of the study.

Over time, the children showed both an increase in tolerance to eggs and a decrease in the severity of their
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Source:Duke University Medical Center

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