Skip to content

Research Alters Allergy Approach

A new study reveals more about infants and peanut allergies

By Malia Jacobson May 17, 2016

A slice of bread with peanut butter on it.
A slice of bread with peanut butter on it.

This article originally appeared in the June 2016 issue of Seattle magazine.

The rate of developing peanut allergy in Western nations has doubled in the past decade, but Seattle-funded research holds clues to prevention.

A new study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, designed and funded in Seattle by Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason and the Immune Tolerance Network, indicates that feeding peanuts to infants at risk of developing an allergy to peanuts can help prevent allergy development, even after those infants stop eating peanuts. This study is an extension of last year’s landmark LEAP (Learning Early About Peanut Allergy) study, which showed that early consumption of peanuts by infants with existing food sensitivities reduced the rate of developing peanut allergy by 80 percent.

The follow-up study, called LEAP-ON, shows that infants don’t need to keep eating peanuts to be protected; results persisted even after a year without peanuts. The research is altering the way physicians approach this life-threatening allergy. Bring on the PB&J.

 

Follow Us

Floating with Friends

Floating with Friends

The benefits of sauna go beyond the physical, and Seattle’s newest wellness experience—which glides around the waters of Lake Union—equally taps into the non-tangible positives.

It only took a few minutes to settle in before I knew—these are my people. I met Emma Griffith, one of the founders of Wild Haus Floating Saunas, on a crisp, clear, late-summer morning to chat about the project she helped start last January. In simple terms, the team of eight created two saunas on…

Dog of the Month: Charlie

Dog of the Month: Charlie

A would-be space traveler with a complicated legal history.

Charlie is about 10 months old, though his foster parent describes him as an “old soul.” He loves being around people and other dogs, but his social calendar has been limited after an unfortunate encounter with a skunk before he was found just outside Yakima. He is also the recipient of a lifetime ban from…

The Neighborhood Gym Effect

The Neighborhood Gym Effect

Inside Seattle Strength and Performance’s small-group training model and welcoming approach to fitness.

On a regular Seattle Wednesday morning, a little wet and dreary, I walk into a small gym feeling unsure of what I’ve gotten myself into. It’s late January, a time when many New Year’s resolutions are failing and motivation to keep exercising may be going out the window. I work out consistently—lifting weights, going to…

I Experienced a Skincare Treatment on the World’s Most Expensive Bed

I Experienced a Skincare Treatment on the World’s Most Expensive Bed

A Hästens pop-up is currently running at Penelope and the Beauty Bar.

Last week as I was heading out the door for an appointment at Penelope and the Beauty Bar—the spa inside the Fairmont Olympic Hotel—my fiancĂ© yelled up the stairs, “You better not fall in love with that mattress!” I was on my way to experience the spa’s Oxygen Dome Facial as part of a pop-up…