Peanut allergy affects one in 50 children in the UK and is one of the most common causes of food-related deaths. Unlike egg or wheat allergies, it is seldom outgrown. Now, however, there are signs that we could be close to finding a treatment for the symptoms of peanut allergy.
The recent ARTEMIS trial by the Evelina London Children’s Hospital has found that oral immunotherapy treatment, which involves repeated exposure to gradually increasing doses of the allergen, could help sufferers to increase their tolerance of peanuts.
In one of the largest peanut allergy trials ever conducted, ARTEMIS found six in ten four- to 12-year-olds who reacted to around 10mg of peanut protein at the start of the trial were able to take a dose of 1,000mg of peanut protein by the end, equivalent to about three kernels.
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