An Asthma Drug Can Drastically Reduce Food Allergies

About 20 million people in the U.S.—including four million children—have food allergies. Now, there’s a new way to reduce their risk of severe allergic reactions. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine reports that the drug omalizumab, or Xolair, allows people with food allergies to tolerate higher doses of allergenic foods before developing a reaction after an accidental exposure. It also leads to milder reactions if they are exposed. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The drug was originally approved more than two decades ago to treat allergic asthma. But because of this new study and other data, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration expanded the approval of Xolair on Feb. 16 to include treatment of food allergies in anyone one year or older. It’s now the first drug approved to treat allergies to multiple foods. Anabelle Terry, a 12-year old with severe peanut and tree nut allergies, experienced that benefit firsthand as a participant in the trial. While participating in the study, she ate half a cupcake while with friends that she thought was nut-free but had made been made with cashew flour. Within about an hour, her stomach and throat started to hurt and her lips tingled, so she thought she was having an allergic reaction and went home. Her mom gave her an antihistamine, which was enough to quell her symptoms. Before Xolair, if she ate even a tiny amount of peanuts or tree nuts, she would generally need a shot of...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized healthscienceclimate Source Type: news