Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Current Food Allergy Experimental Treatments

A big thank you goes out to those parents and children who are participating in the three major experimental treatment research studies now going on. As the article in USA Today states, this is the first time that multiple studies are happening at the same time - increasing the chances that life for those with food allergies may be close to changing dramatically...for the better!

The three main types of studies happening now are:

Oral immunotherapy (I've also heard this called the rotation diet - not a new concept). Under close supervision by health care professionals, patients swallow tiny but gradually increasing amounts of the foods that trigger their allergies, with the idea of building immunity. This method is being tested for peanut, egg and milk allergies.

•Sublingual therapy. Drops containing proteins that trigger allergies are put under the tongue, where they are absorbed into the bloodstream. This method is being tested for various food allergies.

•Food allergy herbal formula-2. Known as FAHF-2, this pill (not available in stores) is based on a 2,000-year-old Chinese remedy. It contains nine botanicals, including ginseng and oil made from cinnamon tree bark. It is being tested for peanut, tree nut, fish and shellfish allergies.

Check out the article (plus some, ahem, colorful comments at the end of it) for more information. This blog is dedicated to bringing you up to date research info, so check back as we learn how these studies are progressing.

No comments:

Post a Comment