Using an experimental therapy, scientists have succeeded in feeding small amounts of peanut flour to allergic children and reducing their reactions over time. More children in industrialized countries are becoming allergic to peanuts and other foods, and sometime the reaction is deadly.
Ninety-nine children with severe allergies were involved in the experiment at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, England. Some were given tiny doses of peanut flour mixed in their food and the amounts were increased in subsequent sessions. After six months of treatment, more than 80 per cent of the children became desensitized to the peanuts and can now safely eat five peanuts at a time.
More studies needed
“This is not a cure,” says Dr. Susan Waserman, an allergist at McMaster University in Ontario. She and other researchers in Canada are pursuing similar studies. While results are promising, it will take many more studies before this kind of therapy can be developed for clinical use.
“They’re encouraging but there’s still lots of things we don’t know,” says Waserman. “This will not be a one-size-fits-all therapy. There are varying degrees of peanut allergy, not everyone may be able to be desensitized…There are lots of things to be ironed out but studies like this lay the ground work for stuff to be done in the future.”
If it is eventually made available, this kind of therapy would greatly reduce the anxiety faced by children with life-threatening food allergies.
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