A team of researchers from Australia discovered a new way to battle peanut allergy, and it's something you are familiar with.
Researchers have discovered a new breakthrough when it comes to controlling peanut allergies, especially among children, by combining some principles of desensitization and probiotics.
This protocol has resulted to 80% of the children who also posed as subjects to eat at least 4 grams of peanuts protein every week without reaction.
For the study, the researchers worked on 30 children below 10 years old and have been diagnosed with peanut allergic reactions. They were then divided into two, one of which served as the control.
Although both groups received small doses of peanut protein for 18 months, one group complemented it with probiotics while the other had dummy pills. The researchers didn't reveal which of them had placebo and which ones had probiotics.
When the study ended and the data analyzed, they found out that no less than 75% of the children who received both the probiotics and peanut protein were able to eat at least 4 grams of the latter without any allergic reaction. This was a stark contrast from the 4% of children who received the dummy pills. It's possible that the lack of allergic reaction may be attributed to "outgrowing" it.
Meanwhile, after three months from the end of the study, parents of children who received probiotics reported that the kids continue to enjoy at least 5 peanuts a week without adverse reaction.
Nevertheless, a Denver doctor who wasn't part of the study encouraged parents to proceed with the plan with caution. Dr. Donald Leung, who also heads the pediatric allergy of National Jewish Health Hospital, believes that the study may be promising, but it still requires a more comprehensive trial to pinpoint the long-term effects of the protocol on peanut allergy. He also cited previous studies that revealed how children may be desensitized or develop tolerance on peanuts, although this tolerance can disappear if the person stops eating peanuts for a time.
