Doctors have developed a potential cure for peanut allergies in a breakthrough that could help tens of thousands of children.The pioneering therapy uses carefully controlled doses of peanut flour to 'retrain' a child's faulty immune system and bring it back to normal.
In early trials, doctors successfully treated 20 children suffering from severe peanut allergies.
By the end of the six-month experiment, some of the youngsters could eat up to 12 nuts every day without suffering a life-threatening allergic reaction.
Researchers at Cambridge now want to see whether the same technique can be used to tackle the increase in other types of food allergies such as milk, kiwi fruit and gluten.
Around one child in 50 is thought to suffer from peanut allergy in Britain. In total around 450,000 adults and children have the condition.
Reactions to peanuts can range from mild itching and rashes to potentially dangerous swelling of the airways, breathing problems and severe asthma.
It is the most common serious allergic reaction and appears to be on the rise.
On average, seven children are thought to die from peanut allergies each year.
Dr Pamela Ewan, a consultant allergist at Addenbrooke's hospital and lead researcher in the study, stressed that the treatment was not yet a 'cure'.
'We are essentially retraining the immune system by presenting it with a very low dose to begin with and gradually increasing it,' she said.
'For some, they were getting reactions when they had just one 400th of a peanut. We give them less than that to start with and build up from there.
'It is still early days, and we still need to work out how long term the desensitisation is.'
She added: 'The patients have told us that it has been a massive, life-changing experience.
'The mothers and the children say it has taken away a huge fear that had been looming over them.'
She warned parents not to attempt the technique at home. Giving children with a nut allergy doses of peanut flour could be extremely dangerous.
'We have to increase their dose in hospital in case they take an adverse reaction,' she said.
The researchers gave 20 children with severe peanut allergy small daily doses of peanut flour over six months.
The doses were initially lower than the amount needed to trigger an allergic reaction and were increased every two weeks until the youngsters could eat the equivalent of six peanuts a day.
After 16 weeks, the children were eating peanuts every day to keep their immune system desensitised.
According to the doctors, 20 patients aged between five and 17 years old can now eat up to 12 peanuts a day. Results from the first part of the trial were published in the journal Allergy earlier this year.
The children will be followed for the next three or four years to monitor their tolerance levels. Other studies will see if the peanut flour can be given as a tablet.
Allergy UK welcomed the study. 'This gives tremendous hope for food allergy sufferers,' said chief executive Jules Payne.
'Food allergies can make life so miserable. But we wouldn't want people to try this treatment themselves as they need to be in a clinically controlled environment.'
Doctors are baffled by the rise in peanut allergies.
Some experts believe the obsession with cleanliness in homes - and the fact that children spend little time outside exposed to dirt and germs - means young immune systems are not being properly developed, leaving them vulnerable to allergic reactions.
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