Spring 2010 - Arkansas Children's Hospital

RESEARCH
For the past few years, Alex Orum
has participated in a peanut allergy
study through the Arkansas
Children’s Hospital Research
Institute.When Alex first began
the study, he had a severe allergic
reaction when he ingested onefiftieth
of a peanut. His allergy to
peanut protein has improved so
drastically, he can now eat half a
peanut butter sandwich.
Researchers at ACHRI Are Finding Ways to Allow
Children with Peanut Allergies to Live More Normal Lives
Imagine a child who cannot visit a friend’s house
or eat anything not handed to him by his mother,
for fear of a deadly food allergy.
In 2005, Alex Orum was a healthy 2-year-old.
That November, Alex’s mother, Caren, fed him a
food containing almond butter and he immediately
developed a rash on his stomach.
“After we saw the rash from the almond butter,
we had Alex tested for food allergies,” says Caren. “I
heard back from his doctor the day before
Thanksgiving and I remember thinking, ‘For her to
call us at home today, this cannot be good.’”
The doctor informed Caren that Alex had a mild
allergy to almond butter, but an extreme allergy to
peanuts. The Orums immediately rid their home of
any peanut-related food products and made every
effort to protect their son. Alex’s parents were worried
– inadvertent exposure to peanuts is always a
possibility, and the fear of a fatal or near fatal reaction
is always present.
Over the next few years, Alex had a few severe
allergic reactions, requiring several emergency room
visits. Like many parents of children with severe medical concerns, Caren tracked
news of any developments in the treatment of peanut allergies.
Caren’s extensive research into peanut allergy treatments led her to clinical studies
occurring at ACH and Duke University. At ACH, Dr. Stacie Jones* and colleagues are
conducting a variety of food allergy studies. Dr. Wesley Burks pioneered early food
allergy research at ACH and now continues this important work at Duke in collaboration
with Dr. Jones’ team.
Food allergies are common in America. Twelve million people in the United States
have a food allergy and more than 4 million of those people are children.
In the peanut allergy study at the ACH Research Institute (ACHRI), children are
given a small amount of peanut protein under close supervision. If the child continues
with the study after the initial amount, he or she is slowly given more peanut protein
every two weeks with the theory that the child will become less allergic over time.
Caren and her son Alex came to ACHRI’s Pediatric Clinical Research Unit (PCRU)
for his initial treatment as well as standard blood and allergy skin testing.
“On that first day, Alex was given tiny increments of peanut protein to build up to
an initial dose,” says Caren. “At the equivalent of one-fiftieth of a peanut, Alex had a
very strong reaction. It was such a small amount, but he had a very strong allergic
reaction. At that point, we knew we were in the right place and doing the right thing
for Alex.”
Alex was enrolled in the study and the Orums moved from their hometown of San
Francisco to Memphis to participate in the research trial. Caren and Alex traveled
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