VOA标准英语2011--Study: Peanut Therapy Cures Kids' Allergies

Study: Peanut Therapy Cures Kids' Allergies¹

 

Researchers at Duke University in North Carolina believe they can prevent dangerous allergic² reactions to peanuts by exposing children's immune systems to tiny amounts of the food, according to a study published in Nature.

For millions of children around the world, ingesting even one peanut can be life-threatening. For those with an allergy³, the nuts can cause anaphylaxis, a serious reaction that comes on rapidly, making it difficult to breath and causing painful skin rashes and severe stomach pains.

Mary Jane Marchisotto, executive director of the New York-based Food Allergy Initiative (FAI), says about one in 13 children suffers from food allergies, with sensitivity to peanuts among the most common.

The reasons are not clear, but Marchisotto says the number of children who are allergic to peanuts is growing.

“There are a number of competing theories out there. One of the most popular ones is the hygiene⁴ hypothesis, which states that we live in such a clean environment and it’s so vaccinated⁵, that the immune system doesn’t have anything bad to go against, so it goes against good allergens like proteins in food.”

Similar to allergy shots for dust and pollen6, feeding peanuts in tiny amounts is designed to reprogram the young patients’ immune system so peanuts don’t provoke life-threatening reactions.

There are now hundreds of studies around the world looking at ways to treat children who are allergic to peanuts.

The FAI is funding a number of those trials, including one that gives children very small oral doses of peanut protein, under the supervision⁷ of a doctor. Absent an allergic reaction, the doses are gradually increased.

Similar to allergy shots for dust and pollen, the therapy is designed to reprogram the young patients’ immune system so peanuts don’t provoke life-threatening reactions.

Marchisotto says the results of the oral immunotherapy trial and other studies have been promising⁸.

“They show that immunotherapy can be safe and effective in 70 to 80 percent of the subjects. And we’re very optimistic about the use of it. But it is still an investigational⁹ therapy, that’s why it’s important that we continue to support the studies.”

In the oral desensitization therapy trial, conducted by researchers at Duke University in North Carolina and funded by FAI, children who previously¹⁰ had been allergic to peanuts were able to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches after treatment.

1 allergies   

n.[医]过敏症；[口]厌恶，反感；（对食物、花粉、虫咬等的）过敏症( allergy的名词复数 )；变态反应，变应性

参考例句：

• Food allergies can result in an enormous variety of different symptoms. 食物过敏会引发很多不同的症状。 来自辞典例句
• Let us, however, examine one of the most common allergies; hayfever. 现在让我们来看看最常见的变态反应的一种--枯草热。 来自辞典例句

2 allergic   

adj.过敏的，变态的

参考例句：

• Alice is allergic to the fur of cats.艾丽斯对猫的皮毛过敏。
• Many people are allergic to airborne pollutants such as pollen.许多人对空气传播的污染物过敏，比如花粉。

3 allergy   

n.(因食物、药物等而引起的)过敏症

参考例句：

• He developed an allergy to pollen.他对花粉过敏。
• The patient had an allergy to penicillin.该患者对青霉素过敏。

4 hygiene   

n.健康法，卫生学 （a.hygienic）

参考例句：

• Their course of study includes elementary hygiene and medical theory.他们的课程包括基础卫生学和医疗知识。
• He's going to give us a lecture on public hygiene.他要给我们作关于公共卫生方面的报告。

5 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

6 pollen   

n.[植]花粉

参考例句：

• Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious.蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。
• He developed an allergy to pollen.他对花粉过敏。

7 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

8 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

9 investigational   

[医]调查研究的

参考例句：

• Investigational New Drug Application (IND) for the compound. 为化合物的研究中的新药物申请(IND)。
• He said it representsan investigational H.I. 一位博士说：我们已经向成功迈出了重要的一步。

10 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。