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Breakthrough Scientists successfully treat peanut allergy in toddlers
A peanut allergy can be deadly for those affected in the worst case. Researchers have now succeeded in developing a treatment for children with a peanut allergy that has such long-term effects that patients are protected from allergy even four years later.
Researchers at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute developed a new therapy that could protect children from a permanent peanut allergy. The physicians published the results of their study in the journal "The Lancet, Child and Adolescent Health".
There are many people in the world who are allergic to peanuts. Consumption can even lead to death for those affected. Now there seems to be a therapy that leads in the long term to tolerance of peanuts to those affected. (Image: atoss / fotolia.com) What is anaphylaxis?
Researchers may have succeeded in developing a lasting cure for a peanut allergy. Peanut allergies are the leading cause of anaphylaxis - a life-threatening allergic reaction and the leading cause of food allergy.
Subjects were tolerant to peanuts after therapy
At the end of their first study in 2013, it was found that 82 percent of the children who received the so-called probiotic and peanut oral immunotherapy (PPOIT) were finally tolerant of peanuts and could go home without a dangerous peanut allergy.
Long-term tolerance to peanuts has been confirmed
After a period of four years, the tolerance was still in many subjects, explain the experts. Eighty percent of the children were still able to eat peanuts as part of their normal diet during this period. 70 percent of the participants completed another test, which confirmed a long-term tolerance to peanuts.
Original examination went over the period of 18 months
Subjects in the study were medically monitored for a total of four years. The children in the initial randomized study received either a combination of the probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus with peanut proteins in increasing amounts or just a placebo daily for a period of 18 months over a 18-month period. It was then investigated whether the children developed a tolerance to peanuts, the scientists explain.
Subjects consumed peanuts as part of their normal diet after therapy
Surprisingly, at the end of the experiment, more than 80 percent of the children who had received the combined peanut therapy were able to tolerate peanuts, compared to less than four percent in the placebo group. If the children had developed tolerance to peanuts in the first study, they were told after the study to introduce peanuts as part of their normal diet. The majority of PPOIT-treated children who were able to eat peanuts at the end of therapy were able to eat peanuts four years later without an allergic reaction, author Mimi Tang said in a news release from the Murdoch Children's Research Institute.
Children were still protected years later from a dangerous reaction to peanuts
The children had eaten the peanuts in the years following treatment as a normal part of their diet without receiving any specific treatment. More than half of those affected regularly consumed moderate to large quantities of peanuts, others rarely consumed peanuts. In other words, the children were able to consume peanuts as if they had no peanut allergy, say the experts. Dr tolerant peanut status was maintained and the children were protected from a dangerous reaction to peanuts. Further research now needs to find out if the novel treatment will lead to an improved quality of life.
Tolerance is a realistic goal of treating food allergies
The results of the study show that tolerance is a realistic goal in the treatment of food allergies. "This is an important step in identifying effective treatment to tackle the problem of food allergies in Western societies," continues Professor Tang. Rather than using a therapy that protects against accidental ingestion of peanuts, the new treatment aims to deliver long-term long-term effects. So should those affected to be able to include peanuts as a normal part of their diet. (As)