Researchers at the Karolinska Institute have achieved promising results in treating peanut allergies in children.
They achieved this through a treatment program that involved gradually exposing them to small amounts of peanuts under close medical supervision, which helped most of the children participating in the study to tolerate eating them without developing serious allergic symptoms.
The study included 75 children aged between one and three years in Stockholm, all of whom had confirmed peanut allergies of varying degrees.
The treatment was based on what is known as oral immunotherapy, whereby the children began to take very small doses of peanut flakes inside the hospital, then continued to take them daily at home, with the doses gradually increasing every four to six weeks until reaching a low preventive dose of approximately one and a half peanuts per day.
Fifty children received immunotherapy, while another 25 children, in the control group, adhered to completely avoiding peanuts throughout the study period.
After three years of follow-up, the results showed that 82% of the children who received the treatment were able to eat at least three and a half peanuts without any allergic reaction, even four weeks after stopping the treatment. In contrast, only 12% of the children in the control group were able to tolerate this amount.
Caroline Nelson, associate professor in the Department of Clinical Science and Education, said that all children who adhered to the treatment protocol achieved the primary goal of the treatment, while most of them were able to consume larger quantities, up to 25 peanuts, without allergic symptoms.
She added that the treatment is safe when applied in a controlled medical environment, noting that the use of peanut flakes made the treatment process easier for children and their families.
Some mild side effects were recorded, such as itching in the mouth or skin rash, while more severe allergic reactions appeared during the stages of increasing doses, and a limited number of children had to receive adrenaline injections.
The researchers stressed the need to avoid trying this type of treatment at home without medical supervision, due to the possibility of serious allergic reactions.
For her part, Anna Asarnoj, who led the study in collaboration with Nelson, explained that following a cautious and gradual therapeutic approach played an important role in achieving safe and effective results.
The research team indicated that the next phase will involve studying the changes that occur in the immune system during treatment, as well as following up with the children for a longer period to see if immune tolerance will continue in the long term.
The results were published in The Lancet Regional Health - Europe.
