Mark's Notebook


	Only a mediocre person is always at his best. - W. Somerset Maugham

Food allergy vaccine promising

San Jose Mercury News

Friday 12 November 2004, 11:30 am
Keywords: News Articles , Gluten-Free Topics , Health Topics

By Esther Landhuis

A new vaccine developed by a Stanford-led research team could one day enable millions of food allergy sufferers to fearlessly bite into a peanut butter sandwich. Tested in dogs thus far, the vaccine curbs allergic reactions to peanuts, milk and wheat.

"We're finally entering a realm where different treatment approaches for food allergy are being developed and really look like they're on the five- to 10-year horizon," said Dr. Robert Wood, a pediatric allergist at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

The Stanford work -- a joint effort with University of California scientists at Berkeley, San Francisco and Davis -- comes during an unprecedented rise in food allergies. In the past five years, peanut allergies in U.S. kids have doubled, and the number of Americans with food allergies has grown from 6 million to 11 million.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/10162659.htm

Mark says: Both Mary and I are allergic to both peanuts and wheat gluten. This study could mean a lot for our future health.