Walnut Oral Immunotherapy for Tree Nut Allergy (WOIT)

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

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Tree Nut Allergy
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Walnut Protein Powder; Drug: Oat Powder (placebo); Drug: Open-label Walnut Protein Powder

Detailed Description

Randomized, placebo controlled, Phase 1-2 study conducted at Arkansas Children's Hospital Research Institute (ACHRI) in tree nut allergic participants, ages 6-45 years with randomization following a 2:1 (active:placebo) format. The overall objectives were to evaluate the efficacy of walnut oral immunotherapy (WOIT) for induction of desensitization to walnut (secondary outcome) and a test tree nut (primary outcome) when compared to placebo after 38 weeks of treatment as assessed by double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenges (DBPCFC) to walnut and a test tree nut in tree nut allergic participants (defined by allergic reaction to </= 2 grams of walnut and test tree nut proteins during DBPCFC at study entry). Placebo participants were crossed-over to active therapy after unblinding at week 38. Participants were followed long-term (up to 6 years) on open-label WOIT treatment and assessed at yearly intervals based on pre-specified criteria for clinical outcomes of desensitization to walnut and a test tree nut (defined as safely consuming 5 grams of walnut and test tree nut protein during DBPCFC while on daily WOIT) and sustained unresponsiveness to walnut and a test tree nut (defined as safely consuming 5 grams of walnut and test tree nut protein during DBPCFC and 10 grams during an open feeding while off therapy for 4-6 weeks). Secondary outcomes were evaluated including safety and immune mechanistic parameters.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 22
• Phase: Phase 2; Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Arkansas
    • Little Rock, Arkansas, United States, 72202
      • Arkansas Children's Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 6 years to 45 years (Child, Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

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

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
• Masking: Quadruple

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Walnut Protein Powder; 38 weeks on active walnut powder on blinded treatment phase	Drug: Walnut Protein Powder; Blinded study product dosing begins with a 1-day oral desensitization protocol to walnut for subjects in the active arm. Starting at 0.1 mg protein and increasing to a maximum of 6 mg or until allergic symptoms develop. Subjects continue daily dosing of blinded OIT (walnut) with build-up every 2 weeks to a maximum daily dose of 1500mg at week 34, followed by 4 weeks of daily maintenance dosing. OFC to walnut and second tree nut occurs at week 38 then treatment is unblinded and open-label maintenance dosing occurs.; Other Names: WOIT
Placebo Comparator: Oat Powder; 38 weeks on placebo (oat) powder during blinded treatment phase	Drug: Oat Powder (placebo); Blinded study product dosing begins with a one-day oral desensitization protocol with placebo (oat) powder. Subjects in the placebo group will undergo the same protocol as those in the active group with placebo OIT dosing. Unblinding to treatment assignment will occur after the 38 week oral food challenge. Placebo subjects will cross-over to active, open-label treatment with walnut powder after the 38 week oral food challenge. beginning with initial escalation day, through build-up and maintenance dosing per the same protocol sequence as noted for active, walnut powder. Subjects will complete an oral food challenge to walnut and the second tree nut at week 38 then will continue on long-term, open-label maintenance dosing until the end of study using same protocol design.; Other Names: Oat flour
Other: Open-label Walnut Protein Powder; Open-label treatment with walnut protein powder up to week 298 of total treatment	Drug: Open-label Walnut Protein Powder; Open-label treatment phase begins after the 38 week oral food challenge with unblinding of treatment assignment. For those on active treatment, daily maintenance dosing occurs for up to a total of 298 weeks. For those on placebo treatment, cross-over to active, open-label treatment occurs using the same active treatment protocol. Placebo-crossover subjects will complete an oral food challenge to walnut and the second tree nut at week 38 of active therapy then continue on long-term, open-label maintenance dosing until the end of study using same protocol design. All subjects may reach a qualifying IgE to walnut/second tree nut early and will undergo an OFCs on and 4 weeks off OIT. All subjects will have OFCs on and 4 weeks off OIT at week 142 and at week 298, unless both walnut/second tree nut OFCs are passed at previous OFC prompting addition of these foods into the diet.; Other Names: Open-label treatment

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Effectiveness of Walnut OIT on Clinical Desensitization to Test Tree Nut as Measured by Change in Cumulative Tolerated Dose From Baseline to Week 38 at Oral Food Challenge	Determine in tree nut allergic subjects the effectiveness of walnut oral immunotherapy on clinical desensitization to a second tree nut ("test tree nut") causing allergy when compared to placebo treatment, as measured by the change in cumulative dose from baseline oral food challenge (OFC) to the OFC to the test tree nut at approximately 38 weeks on therapy.	38 weeks of therapy

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Evaluation of Desensitization to Walnut Protein as Measured by Change in Cumulative Tolerated Dose From Baseline to Week 38 Oral Food Challenge	Determine in tree nut allergic subjects the effectiveness of walnut oral immunotherapy on clinical desensitization to walnut causing allergy when compared to placebo treatment, as measured by the change in cumulative dose from baseline oral food challenge (OFC) to the OFC to the walnut at approximately 38 weeks on therapy.	38 weeks
Number (Percentage) of Subjects Reaching a Cumulative Tolerated Dose of 2000mg Walnut Protein at Desensitization OFC at Week 38	The percentage of subjects reaching a cumulative protein dose of 2000mg at the desensitization oral food challenge to walnut at week 38	38 weeks
Number (Percentage) of Subjects Reaching a Cumulative Tolerated Dose of 2000mg Test Tree Nut Protein at Desensitization OFC at Week 38	Comparison of the number and percentage of subjects in each treatment arm reaching a cumulative protein dose of 2000mg at the week 38 (desensitization) oral food challenge to test tree nut	38 weeks
Number (Percentage) of Subjects Attaining Sustained Unresponsiveness to Walnut and Test Tree Nut Proteins at Week 298 Oral Food Challenge	The percentage of subjects demonstrating sustained unresponsiveness to walnut and to the test tree nut by end of study. Analysis group combines both active and placebo-crossover participants during open-label extension arm through the end of study at week 298. Subjects were able to exit the study at assessment timepoints earlier than week 298 if they are able to pass the sustained unresponsiveness oral food challenge, thus the analysis included all subjects through week 298..	up to 298 weeks on active treatment
Change in Skin Prick Test Wheal Size From Baseline to Week 142 in Active and Placebo Cross-over Subjects Receiving Active Walnut OIT	Evaluation of walnut OIT on the mast cell responses as measured through change in skin prick testing to walnut in participants who were treated with walnut OIT to week 142. Analysis group combines both active and placebo-crossover participants from baseline through open-label treatment phase until the end of study.	142 weeks
Serious Adverse Events Related to Walnut OIT Treatment	Incidence of treatment-related serious adverse events during the study	298 weeks active treatment

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Arkansas
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Stacie M Jones, MD, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences / Arkansas Children's Hospital

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Kulis M, Li Y, Lane H, Pons L, Burks W. Single-tree nut immunotherapy attenuates allergic reactions in mice with hypersensitivity to multiple tree nuts. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2011 Jan;127(1):81-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2010.09.014. Epub 2010 Nov 18.
• Hofmann AM, Scurlock AM, Jones SM, Palmer KP, Lokhnygina Y, Steele PH, Kamilaris J, Burks AW. Safety of a peanut oral immunotherapy protocol in children with peanut allergy. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2009 Aug;124(2):286-91, 291.e1-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2009.03.045. Epub 2009 May 27.
• Jones SM, Pons L, Roberts JL, Scurlock AM, Perry TT, Kulis M, Shreffler WG, Steele P, Henry KA, Adair M, Francis JM, Durham S, Vickery BP, Zhong X, Burks AW. Clinical efficacy and immune regulation with peanut oral immunotherapy. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2009 Aug;124(2):292-300, 300.e1-97. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2009.05.022. Epub 2009 Jul 3.
• Varshney P, Jones SM, Scurlock AM, Perry TT, Kemper A, Steele P, Hiegel A, Kamilaris J, Carlisle S, Yue X, Kulis M, Pons L, Vickery B, Burks AW. A randomized controlled study of peanut oral immunotherapy: clinical desensitization and modulation of the allergic response. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2011 Mar;127(3):654-60. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2010.12.1111.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 27, 2012
• Primary Completion (Actual): July 2, 2015
• Study Completion (Actual): July 2, 2020

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 1, 2012
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 6, 2012
• First Posted (Estimate): March 7, 2012

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 12, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 19, 2023
• Last Verified: April 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Desensitization; Food allergy; Oral immunotherapy; Tree nut allergy; Walnut allergy; Sustained unresponsiveness
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Immune System Diseases; Food Hypersensitivity; Hypersensitivity, Immediate; Nut and Peanut Hypersensitivity; Hypersensitivity; Nut Hypersensitivity
• Other Study ID Numbers: 113364; FARE (Other Identifier: Food Allergy Research and Education)

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: Yes
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No