University of Cambridge researchers recently announced that they have convincing evidence that a new peanut allergy treatment is effective. The research team recently concluded a three-year trial with positive results, says Cambridge News (http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Universities/Peanut-allergy-cracked-acco...).
The trial involved the feeding of a chocolate containing peanut flour to children with severe peanut allergies. The amount of peanut flower in the chocolate gradually increased over the course of the study. 22 children were involved in the treatment, and the study leader sad that this treatment had “transformed” these lives. Before the trial, all 22 children had allergic reactions to even tiny amounts of peanut.
Following the three-year treatment, 19 of the 22 children were able to consume at least five peanuts per day with no allergic reaction. Two were able to eat two or three peanuts each day, while the last child dropped out of the study at the beginning. Dr. Andrew Clark, who led the clinical trial, said that the result “proves that it is possible for peanut allergic patients to eat peanuts without fear of a severe reaction."
Those taking part in the study underwent the desensitization treatment, which is also known as immunotherapy, at the hospital's clinical research facility. Six months after the end of the treatment course, they were still able to eat peanuts without an allergic reaction. It is believed that the treatment course used for this study was more effective than that used for other studies of peanut immunotherapy because it involves more gradual increases in dose.
The results of the Cambridge study are promising for those living with peanut allergies. Diagnosis of a peanut allergy can have a major impact on families due to the fear of a severe reaction and anxiety over making the right food choices.
This could, at the very
This could, at the very least, remove the fear from cross-contamination. I would love to not have to bake special cupcakes to take to birthday parties, allowing my kids to eat the birthday cake with everyone else, even if it did come from a supermarket bakery with a peanut allergy warning on it. "May Contain Peanuts" may not be so scary after treatment like this.