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Walnut Oral Immunotherapy for Tree Nut Allergy

Study Purpose

The purpose of this study is to determine if walnut oral immunotherapy can be used in subjects allergic to tree nuts to reduce tree nut allergy and induce changes in the subject's immune system.

Recruitment Criteria

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Healthy volunteers are participants who do not have a disease or condition, or related conditions or symptoms

No
Study Type

An interventional clinical study is where participants are assigned to receive one or more interventions (or no intervention) so that researchers can evaluate the effects of the interventions on biomedical or health-related outcomes.


An observational clinical study is where participants identified as belonging to study groups are assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.


Searching Both is inclusive of interventional and observational studies.

Interventional
Eligible Ages 6 Years - 45 Years
Gender All
More Inclusion & Exclusion Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

  • - Age 6 to 45 years, either sex, any race, any ethnicity with a convincing clinical history of walnut or another tree nut allergy and either a positive prick skin test (> 3mm) or serologic evidence of allergic sensitization (defined as specific IgE > 0.35 kU/L) to walnut and at least one other tree nut.
  • - A positive 2000 mg oral food challenge at enrollment to walnut and to one other tree nut.
  • - Written informed consent from participant and/or parent/guardian.
  • - Written assent from all subjects as appropriate.
  • - All females of child bearing age must be using appropriate birth control.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • - History of severe anaphylaxis to walnut or other tree nuts, defined as symptoms associated with hypoxia, hypotension or neurologic compromise (cyanosis or SpO2 < 92% at any stage, hypotension, confusion, collapse, loss of consciousness; or incontinence).
  • - Known allergy to oat.
  • - Chronic disease (other than asthma, atopic dermatitis, rhinitis) requiring therapy or other respiratory or medical conditions deemed by the investigator to put the subject at increased risk of anaphylaxis or poor outcomes from receiving OIT or undergoing food challenge.
  • - Poor control or persistent activation of atopic dermatitis.
  • - Active eosinophilic or other inflammatory (e.g., celiac) gastrointestinal disease in the past 2 years.
  • - Participation in any interventional study for food allergy in the past 6 months.
  • - Participant is on "build-up phase" of immunotherapy (i.e., has not reached maintenance dosing).
  • - Severe asthma (2007 NHLBI Criteria Steps 5 or 6, see Appendix 2) or poorly controlled mild or moderate asthma.
  • - Inability to discontinue antihistamines for initial day escalation, skin testing or OFC.
  • - Use of omalizumab or other non-traditional forms of allergen immunotherapy (e.g., oral or sublingual) or immunomodulator therapy (not including corticosteroids) or biologic therapy within the past year.
  • - Use of beta-blockers (oral), angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, angiotensin-receptor blockers (ARB) or calcium channel blockers.
- Pregnancy or lactation

Trial Details

Trial ID:

This trial id was obtained from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, providing information on publicly and privately supported clinical studies of human participants with locations in all 50 States and in 196 countries.

NCT01546753
Phase

Phase 1: Studies that emphasize safety and how the drug is metabolized and excreted in humans.

Phase 2: Studies that gather preliminary data on effectiveness (whether the drug works in people who have a certain disease or condition) and additional safety data.

Phase 3: Studies that gather more information about safety and effectiveness by studying different populations and different dosages and by using the drug in combination with other drugs.

Phase 4: Studies occurring after FDA has approved a drug for marketing, efficacy, or optimal use.

Phase 1/Phase 2
Lead Sponsor

The sponsor is the organization or person who oversees the clinical study and is responsible for analyzing the study data.

University of Arkansas
Principal Investigator

The person who is responsible for the scientific and technical direction of the entire clinical study.

Stacie M Jones, MD
Principal Investigator Affiliation University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences / Arkansas Children's Hospital
Agency Class

Category of organization(s) involved as sponsor (and collaborator) supporting the trial.

Other
Overall Status Active, not recruiting
Countries United States
Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied.

Nut Hypersensitivities
Arms & Interventions

Arms

Active Comparator: Walnut Protein Powder

Placebo Comparator: Oat Powder

Interventions

Drug: - Walnut Protein Powder

Dosing begins with a one-day walnut oral desensitization protocol. Starting at 0.1 mg protein and increasing every thirty minutes until a maximum dose of 6 mg is reached or until allergic symptoms develop. After the initial escalation day, subjects will continue daily dosing with dosing build-every two weeks to a maximum dose of 1500mg walnut protein at 34 weeks. A daily maintenance dose (1500mg or the highest dose reached by 34 weeks) will be given for 4 weeks followed by 5 gram oral food challenges to walnut and the second tree nut (at 38 weeks), after which the study will be unblinded. Active treatment subjects will continue on maintenance dosing for up to a total of 298 weeks of therapy. Subjects reaching a qualifying specific IgE to walnut and the test tree nut at any early time point will receive a tolerance oral food challenge to the tree nuts on and 4 weeks off therapy. All subjects will have an oral food challenge on and off therapy at 142 weeks and at 298 weeks.

Drug: - Oat Powder (placebo)

Subjects in the placebo group will undergo the same one-day desensitization protocol as the active treatment group, consuming a maximum dose of 6 mg of oat powder (initial day escalation phase). After the initial escalation day achieving at least 1.5 mg and up to 6 mg of oat powder, the dosing build-up will occur every two weeks through dose 24 (1500mg oat flour) at ~34 weeks. A maintenance dose will be given for 4 weeks followed by a 5 gram protein double blind, placebo controlled OFC to walnut and a 5 gram protein OFC to a second tree nut (at ~38 weeks), after which the study will be unblinded. Placebo subjects that fail the OFC will be crossed over to active treatment beginning with initial escalation day.

Contact a Trial Team

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Arkansas Children's Hospital, Little Rock, Arkansas

Status

Address

Arkansas Children's Hospital

Little Rock, Arkansas, 72202

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