The study involved a small number of little children who were allergic to peanuts. Researchers fed them very small amounts of peanuts each day until their bodies got used to it. The children were very closely monitored in case they needed help. 

 

Although the team of doctors at Duke University Medical Center and Arkansas Children's Hospital did not come up with a cure for peanut allergy, the results of the study are a first and very important step towards that. 

 

However, the study has not ended yet. The children will be monitored during the following years, but doctors are “optimistic that they have lost their peanut allergy,” said lead researcher Dr. Wesley Burks, Duke's allergy chief.

 

The results of the study were presented at a meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. 

 

Peanut or tree nut allergy currently affects more than 3 million Americans and number is growing to the wonder of doctors. About 50 percent of food-allergy-related deaths that are recorded each year in the United States are caused by peanut allergies. 

 

As for the children who suffer from this affliction, they are in permanent danger. They parents must be extra-vigilant so they eat only peanut-free food. Considering the fact that only approximately 20 percent of children who suffer from peanut allergy actually recover from it, the findings of the aforementioned study are of paramount importance.