A potential breakthrough for peanut allergy treatment

Peanut allergies are among the most rapidly growing food allergies in the United States. Millions of children are currently living with the condition, with new cases being diagnosed daily. (A recent study shows the number of reported peanut allergies tripled in just over a decade.) And because allergic reactions to peanuts tend to be the most severe—80 to 95 percent of all food allergy deaths are peanut or tree nut related—the trend is a serious cause for concern. But a small pilot study published by the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, may offer hope for the hundred of thousands of families living with the condition. Conducted by researchers from Boston Children’s Hospital’s Division of Allergy and Immunology and Harvard Medical School, the new study shows that by combining a powerful anti-allergy medication and a methodical desensitization process, Boston Children’s researchers may be on their way to creating the next best thing to a cure for peanut allergy. Two-pronged attack on peanut allergy Dale Umetsu, MD Desensitization as a treatment for food allergies has been widely studied for the past few years. It’s a process where a person is exposed to a very small amount of his or her allergy trigger—usually not enough to cause a reaction—in a controlled medical environment. The dosage is then increased by small amounts over time. When successful the participants’ bodies build up a tolerance with each new dose, and eventu...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: All posts Food allergies Kids' safety Milk allergies Parenting clinical trial food allergy Dale Umetsu Lynda Schneider peanut allergies Rima Rachid Source Type: news