Bone Marrow Transplant Cures Child with Leukemia of Peanut Allergy

While it was previously known that a bone marrow transplant (BMT) can confer the donor's peanut allergy onto the recipient, a case has been found in which the recipient was cured of peanut allergy following a BMT.

According to research presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology annual meeting, a 10-year-old patient with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) was found to be cured of his peanut allergy after undergoing an allogenic bone marrow transplant.

Transplant leads to allergy cure

Lead study author Yong Luo, M.D., Ph.D. said that the child had been diagnosed with a peanut allergy at age 15 months, following a severe reaction to peanuts involving hives and vomiting.

At age 10, he was treated for ALL by a bone marrow transplant from a donor without any known allergies, and he appeared to be cured of the allergy.

The cure was confirmed by allergists, who conducted what's known as an oral food challenge, a test carried out under strong medical scrutiny because it involves peanut ingestion. The child in question showed no signs of allergy from the test.

While researchers could offer no immediate explanation for the cure, it was noted by study co-author Steven Weiss, M.D., Ph.D., that the case boosts the evidence indicating that "genetic modification during the early stages of immune cell development in bone marrow may play a large role in causing allergy."

Source: MNT