A new study suggests a potentially effective way of curing peanut allergy especially among children.
Researchers from Paris led by Andrew Clark from Cambridge University Hospitals tested if peanut allergy could be alleviated by exposing the children, aged seven to sixteen, to small amounts of peanut powder over a period of time.
This new form of treatment, called the oral immunotherapy (OIT), showed that 84 to 91 percent of the 99 participants were able to ingest small amounts of peanut powder (0.03 ounces or 800 mg daily) without their bodies reacting negatively to it. The daily dose given to the children is equivalent to about five pieces of peanuts. This technique will aid their bodies to work on the tolerance for the allergen and therefore reduce the ill effects of the allergen if the child ingests peanut accidentally.
"The treatment allowed children with all severities of peanut allergy to eat large quantities of peanuts, well above the levels found in contaminated snacks and meals, freeing them and their parents from the fear of a potentially life threatening allergic reaction," wrote Clark in the study.
The technique is not yet perfected and researchers discourage administering the therapy at home, for they have to study more about it. The daily dose given to the children is about 25 times the amount of peanut powder that they can ingest, and the lethal dose is much higher than that. During the trial, one in five kids reported having negative body reactions to the daily dose of peanut powder but the cases only include mild itching of the mouth, AFP reports.
According to the Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE), peanut allergy is one of the most common food allergies. It can cause severe to fatal reaction. In the U.S., the number of kids who have this allergy has tripled between 1997 and 2008. While 20 percent of the kids usually outgrow this type of allergy, majority struggle with this condition their entire life.
The study was published in the Jan. 30 issue of The Lancet.