16-year-old free from dairy allergy after experimental treatment
Julian can now eat dairy products and even a cheeseburger.
A groundbreaking new treatment could help millions of Americans who are allergic to dairy.
Sixteen-year-old Julian, who received the experimental treatment, which exposes those with dairy allergies to micro-metered doses of an allergen on a daily basis, told ABC News he went from experiencing anaphylactic shock when near milk more than a decade ago to being able to consume it safely now, without any adverse reaction.
"Just the other day, my school had an event, and there was food everywhere, and I just started eating it without asking what was in it or without worrying about dairy or how much I was eating ... it was really fun," the high school student said.
Previously, Julian was unable to eat popular foods like cheese, ice cream, or pizza, and had to constantly monitor his food intake, he said.
Julian's mom Anne Eidelman told ABC News that when her son was just 2 years old, he nearly died after coming into close contact with aerosolized milk at a coffee shop.
"As a parent of a child with allergies, you are just constantly anxious, constantly worried," Eidelman said.
Julian said he would previously experience bad reactions after even limited exposure to dairy.
"Whether that's a tiny speck of dairy in cross contamination or a potato bun that I ate without knowing it had dairy in it, no matter what, I always was violently ill," he said. "I had terrible breathing issues. It would be hours of pain and suffering."
According to nonprofit FARE, or Food Allergy Research & Education, approximately 6.2 million Americans have an allergy to cow's milk. One study published in the World Allergy Organization Journal found that cow's milk is one of the most common allergens among children.
The American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology recommends avoidance as the only way to manage milk and dairy allergies.
Three years ago, Julian enrolled in an experimental treatment, the Tolerance Induction Program, or TIP, at the Food Allergy Institute in Los Angeles and started exposing himself to small amounts of different milks on a regular basis.
"We have to induce tolerance in a series of steps ... using technology and using biosimilar proteins," Dr. Inderpal Randhawa, CEO of the Food Allergy Institute, told ABC News.
Scientific evidence of the efficacy of the program remains scarce and ABC News medical contributor Dr. Alok Patel said more research is still needed.
"TIP represents a potentially interesting step forward in addressing food allergies, but there does need to be broader studies and more clinical trials to really vet its efficacy," Patel said.
Under the Tolerance Induction Program, Julian was sent home with a strict protocol and took daily microdoses of various milks, starting with one with the fewest matching proteins to cow's milk.
"I started with boiled camel's milk, which was not where I expected to start," Julian said.
Eidelman said her son eventually moved on to mare's milk and donkey milk.
"My house, we joked, turned into a laboratory," she said.
Julian eventually worked his way up to trying cow's milk, and today, he said he is able to eat all dairy products, achieving what the Food Allergy Institute calls "food freedom."
Randhawa said Julian will continue to need regular exposure to dairy for the successful effects to continue.
The Tolerance Induction Program costs about $1,000 a month, but some insurance plans may cover the protocol.
Doctors say the best method for managing food allergies is still avoidance, however, the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend parents start to introduce allergenic foods such as eggs and peanut butter when babies are about 4 to 6 months old to reduce the risk of a child developing a food allergy later in life.
Parents should first consult their child's pediatrician before starting their child on any new foods or before making any dietary changes.
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