Peanut Allergy 'Gone' In 5 Years? ... not likely

Last week Dr. Wesley Burks was quoted as saying that immunotherapy could help peanut allergic patients by increasing their tolerance to peanuts.

In 2007, Dr. Burks' team at Duke University reported that "five of seven children with severe peanut allergy were able, after two years of immunotherapy, to tolerate a dose of 7.8 grams of peanut flour, equivalent to eating more than 13 peanuts ". Last week Dr. Burks noted that "these studies offer the possibility of at least raising the threshold of the amount of peanut that it would take to cause a life-threatening allergic reaction; whether these types of treatments are likely to cause eventual clinical tolerance to develop remains to be seen."

The media has run with this story under headlines such as "Peanut Allergy Gone in Five Years?" or "Allergy Expert Says Expect Cure For Peanut Allergy In Five Years".

While tolerance to 10+ peanuts would absolutely make peanut allergic children safer, and likely prevent fatalities, these headlines are misleading and will raise false expectations with parents of allergic children. When I first saw the headlines I couldn't click through to the story fast enough!

These studies are important and we are actually exploring peanut immunotherapy for our daughter, as it reduces the risk of exposure to a small amount of the allergen. The difference between a fraction of a peanut and 13 peanuts is significant when a child has severe peanut allergy and anaphylaxis.

That being said, while immunotherapy holds great promise as a treatment, it is not a complete 'cure' for peanut allergy and I cannot imagine that peanut allergy will 'gone' in five years.

The Kiss

I find it amusing how many times I still see the famous case of the Quebec teenager who supposedly died as a result of a kiss from her boyfriend who had recently eaten peanut butter. It is fairly well known in 'peanut circles' that this is actually not the final ruling by the coroner, and in fact the kiss was not the cause of death. I find it even more amusing when the health editor of a major news organization leads with it in a story:

"The severe and often life-threatening reaction some children have to certain foods is no secret. In one prominent case, a Canadian teenager with a severe peanut allergy died after kissing her boyfriend who ate a peanut butter sandwich a few hours earlier."
- Dr. Manny Alvarez, Managing Editor of Health News, FOXNews

Dr. Weisnagel's site sets the record straight.