Can Deadly Peanut Allergies Be Cured?

"That is really what we have seen in almost all of them -- that they have had mild symptoms the first day or the second time and then as you get a higher dose, you get less and less symptoms" Burks said. "That is why we are encouraged by the results for far, because it really does appear that they are becoming desensitized."

Burks said the therapy works by depleting the body of chemicals that cause allergic reactions.

Exposure Treatment for Peanut Allergy Watch Video

"It may not make him be able to eat a peanut butter sandwich some day, but if it could keep him from dying from being in the same room with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich...just to keep him from a life threatening situation, I feel like we won," Jennifer Parks said.

If successful, Burks said the desensitization therapy should be able to help all different kinds of food allergies. He predicts there will be a viable treatment for peanut allergies within five years.

For more information about peanut allergies, visit Foodallergy.org, Medicalert.org and Foodallergyinitiative.org.