Researchers in Cambridge have successfully completed a 2 year study which will have a major impact on peanut allergy sufferers. They successfully desensitised a group of children to peanuts by initially giving them traces of peanut (starting with 1/70th a peanut), incrementally increasing the dose every 2 weeks. By the end of the 2 year study, 85% were able to eat 5 peanuts with no adverse effect. This is a ground-breaking study demonstrating that minute amounts of food allergen given orally and increased over 4 a month period lead to long-term tolerance and desensitisation, freeing these children and their parents from the psychological and clinical trauma of anaphylaxis and necessity to carry adrenalin at all times. The study showed that the children had to keep eating peanuts for 2 years to maintain their tolerance.
Ewan P, Clark A, Lancet 2014
