Researchers Work On Peanut Allergy Vaccine

Doctors Hope To Bring Down Number Of Fatal Reactions

For many Americans, peanut allergies are life threatening. Scientists are trying to eliminate the risk and help allergic people live a more normal life.

Sohelia Maleki, a biochemist and peanut researcher for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, boils, roasts and analyzes DNA from every one of the 14,000 varieties of peanuts in the world.

She is trying to discover the cause of peanut allergy development.

Maleki said peanut roasting appears to a problem.

"We've found that roasting enhances the allergenic properties of peanuts," said Maleki.

Doctors said peanut allergies are on the rise. Currently, more than 1.5 million Americans have a peanut allergy.

Eight-year-old Jayna Nelson eats at an allergy-free table at school. No one with peanuts or peanut byproducts is allowed to join her.

Her mother said if she touches a table with peanut butter on it, she has a reaction.

Doctors said the most severe peanut allergies cause anaphylactic shock, which can be deadly.

Dr. Hugh Sampson and his team are working on a vaccine to prevent fatal allergic reactions.

They attempted to modify a peanut protein and use it to desensitize or remove the peanut allergy.

So far, the vaccine is working on mice with peanut allergies.

But doctors said people will not be able to receive the peanut vaccine for many years.

They said they hope it will help children like Jayna Nelson stop worrying about her allergies someday. Researchers are also looking at a variety of peanuts that lack one of the allergens that causes severe reactions.

They said they hope to eventually create an allergy-free peanut.

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