DURHAM, N.C., Nov. 22 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say a pilot study suggests children allergic to eggs can overcome the allergy by gradually eating increased quantities of eggs.
Researchers at the Duke University Medical Center and theUniversity of Arkansas for Medical Sciences said study participants who took a daily dose of egg product during a the two-year period were able to increase their bodies' resistance to the point where most could eat two scrambled eggs without a reaction.
"Egg allergies cause a significant decrease in quality of life for many people, so this study is exciting in that it brings us a step closer to being able to offer a meaningful therapy for these people," said Dr. A. Wesley Burks, chief of Duke's division of allergy and immunology and a senior member of the research team.
Egg allergy is one of the most common food allergies among children in the United States, Burks said, noting most children outgrow their egg allergy by age 5, while some remain allergic for a lifetime.
The findings were reported in an advance online edition of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology and will appear in the journal's January print edition.
