Exposure to Peanuts in Children With Allergy Builds Immunity

CAMBRIDGE, EnglandPeanut allergies in children may no longer be a concern for parents, according to a study appearing in The Lancent.

Children between the age of 7 and 16 years old were given a daily dose of peanut protein, starting with a tiny dose and slowly building up over a four to six month period. At the end of the study, out of the two groups of children treated with the immunotherapy, 84% and 94% of them  trained their bodies to tolerate the equivalence of eating at least five peanuts a day.

"Before treatment children and their parents would check every food label and avoiding eating out in restaurants," said Andrew Clark, M.D., lead researcher of the study. Now most of the patients in the trial can safely eat at least five whole peanuts. The families involved in this study say that it has changed their lives dramatically."

"This large study is the first in the world to have had such a good outcome, and is an important advance in peanut allergy research," said Pamela Ewan, M.D., lead researcher of the study.

Peanut allergies continue to increase and the next step is to make peanut immunotherapy widely available to patients. Further investigation is required