HJAR Mar/Apr 2022

34 MAR / APR 2022  I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS   Healthcare Briefs ACRI, UAMS Co-Lead Oral Immunotherapy Trial, Inducing Remission of Peanut Allergy in Some Young Children A clinical trial funded by the National Insti- tutes of Health has found that giving peanut oral immunotherapy to highly peanut-allergic chil- dren ages 1 to 3 years safely desensitized most of them to peanuts and induced remission of peanut allergy in one-fifth. The results of the trial, co-led by Arkansas Children’s Research Institute (ACRI) and University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) researcher Stacie Jones, MD, are pub- lished in the journal The Lancet. Nearly 150 chil- dren ages 1 to 3 years participated in the IMPACT trial at five sites. Only children who had an aller- gic reaction after eating half a gram of peanut protein (about 1.5 peanuts) or less were eligible to join the study. The immunotherapy studied consisted of a daily oral dose of peanut protein flour for 2.5 years. Remission was defined as being able to eat five grams of peanut protein, equivalent to approx- imately 16 peanuts, without having an allergic reaction six months after completing immuno- therapy. The youngest children and those who started the trial with lower levels of peanut- specific antibodies were most likely to achieve remission. Jones, director of the Arkansas Children’s Food Allergy Program and a UAMS professor of pedi- atrics practicing at Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH), served as protocol co-chair for the trial. “The findings from the IMPACT Trial are impor- tant and showed that intervening early in the life of a peanut-allergic child may be more effective than intervening later in life. Specifically, a sub- set of study participants were able to safely con- sume 16 peanuts without symptoms at the end of the study. We are beyond grateful to the chil- dren and families who took a risk to be a part of the studies that led to this discovery,” Jones said. “Their contribution is huge and helps us lay the groundwork for a new therapy that may eventu- ally help young children with peanut allergy live with less risk every day.” “In addition to the desensitization we saw in a majority of peanut-allergic children, we also saw a promising number of children whose peanut tol- erability did not reach our threshold for remission but still increased significantly after treatment,” Jones said. “We are tremendously excited that some of this work happened at Arkansas Chil- dren’s Research Institute, underscoring our com- mitment to discoveries that have life-changing potential for families.” Shree Nallur, MD, Joins CHI St. Vincent Primary Care Clinic CHI St. Vincent announced that Shree Nallur, MD, has joined the team of primary care physi- cians at the CHI St. Vincent Primary Care Clinic in Sherwood. Nallur is now seeing patients at the clinic, located at 7709 Highway 107. Nallur attended medical school at Sri Devaraj Urs Medical College in Karnataka, India, where she also completed an internship. She completed a residency in family medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. The physicians at the CHI St. Vincent Primary Care Clinic in Sherwood provide care for adults and children, including wellness checks and pre- ventative medicine, help manage chronic condi- tions, such as diabetes, and help patients coor- dinate care between specialists. Arkansas Hospice Acquires First Choice Senior Care Arkansas Hospice announced the acquisition of First Choice Senior Care (FCSC) of Little Rock. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Arkansas Hospice President and CEO Judy Wooten said, “The addition of FCSC to our family of companies is a wonderful opportunity for us to meet the needs of seniors where they are, improve their quality of life, and provide an added layer of support for their caregivers.” The nonmedical, in-home care afforded by FCSC expands the services of Arkansas Hospice, which added a palliative care division in 2015. FCSC will operate as a subsidiary of Arkansas Hospice and will continue to provide services to seniors in their homes, retirement communities, assisted living care facilities, and nursing homes across central Arkansas. FCSC co-founder Kayla Bogle said, “We’re excited to be a part of the Arkansas Hospice organization, their 30-year leg- acy, and their outstanding reputation for provid- ing the highest quality of care.” Bogle will join Arkansas Hospice in a managerial role over FCSC but emphasized that for those currently receiving services it will be “care as usual,” with no change to care practices or billing. UAMS’ Kevin D. Raney, PhD, Named Fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science Kevin D. Raney, PhD, a research leader at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), has been elected a fellow of the Amer- ican Association for the Advancement of Sci- ence (AAAS), the world’s largest general scien- tific society and publisher of the Science family of journals. Raney is professor and chair of the Depart- ment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in the UAMS College of Medicine. He joins the 2021 class of 564 scientists, engineers, and innovators from around the world spanning 24 disciplines for their scientifically and socially distinguished achievements. Shree Nallur, MD Kevin D. Raney, PhD