Oral immunotherapy treatment would drastically reduce serious peanut-related reactions in allergic people.
- Peanut allergy is the second most common in France and affects approximately 3.5% of adults and 8% of children.
- Treatment with AR101, a molecule derived from peanut protein, introduced gradually reduces the risk of serious reactions in people with allergies.
- This treatment is not curative but preventive.
Peanuts for everyone. The results showed the effectiveness of an oral immunotherapy treatment in desensitizing allergy sufferers through exposure to increasing doses of allergens. The study was published July 20 in the journal The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health. Peanut allergy is the second most common in France and affects around 3.5% of adults and 8% of children, according to figures from thehandles. Figures on the rise since there are twice as many people with allergies as there were five years ago.
Desensitization treatment
The results of this study are those of phase 3 clinical trials, conducted by European researchers in 18 hospitals across the continent. The researchers studied the effects of the treatment on 175 young people, ages 4 to 17, all of whom were allergic to peanuts. Among them, 132 volunteers received the treatment, AR101 which is a molecule derived from peanut proteins. For six months the researchers gradually increased the doses, until they reached 300 mg. The other volunteers were treated with a placebo.
The results showed great efficacy of the treatment. Of those who received AR101, 58% had no allergic reactions when they ate peanuts. This rate was only 2% for the placebo group. “Participating in this study has been one of the greatest opportunities of my life.rejoiced James Redman, a 12-year-old volunteer, to the British daily The Times. The nurses and doctors were competent and caring. The taste of the protein did not bother me, since it was mixed with chocolate flan! I hope the study will lead to a treatment so that other allergy sufferers can benefit..”
Introducing peanuts early to children, another technique
The treatment used is not intended to be used curatively but rather upstream, so as to desensitize allergic people. “Treatment leads to rapid desensitization to peanut protein”, confirmed the researchers. It helps reduce severe reactions from exposure to peanuts.
A previous study, published in July 2019 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, found that early introduction to peanuts can reduce allergic risk in children. By giving 2 grams of peanut butter three times a week to some of the children, the researchers noticed that 3.2% of them ended up developing an allergy after five years compared to 17.2% of children who had avoided peanut butter. eat it.
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