Olivia May isn't too keen on peanuts – but her exposure to them may prove a lifesaver.
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The seven-year-old can now tolerate peanuts after being given a new treatment by Melbourne researchers, but ask her if she likes them and the answer is a definite "Nooooo".
Olivia was among more than 80 per cent of children with peanut allergies who were able to tolerate peanuts after being given a probiotic and increasing doses of peanut, in a study led by the Murdoch Children's Research Institute.
About 60 children aged one to 10 were randomised to receive the daily treatment or a placebo over 18 months, before their ability to tolerate peanuts was assessed two to five weeks later.
Researchers found that more than 80 per cent of children who received the treatment were able to tolerate peanuts at the end of the trial, compared to less than 4 per cent in the placebo group.
Lead researcher Associate Professor Mimi Tang said the results were exciting, in what was the first step towards developing a cure for peanut allergy.
She said rates of food allergy were increasing in the Western world, probably due to increased hygiene causing reduced exposure to a broad range of bacteria necessary to build a healthy immune system. One in 10 Australian children has a food allergy, and 3 per cent are allergic to peanuts.
Professor Tang said the current advice for people with food allergies was to avoid ingesting the substance, which was often difficult and a source of concern.
While giving escalating doses of peanut has previously shown promise as a way of desensitising patients to adverse effects, Professor Tang said the holy grail was to find a way to permanently switch off the underlying allergy. She said combining oral immunotherapy with a probiotic – a type of good bacteria that improves the balance of flora in the digestive system – could be the key to a long-term solution.
Children who were shown to tolerate peanuts in the trial are now including them in their daily diet. The next step is to have them stop eating peanuts for a further eight weeks, then testing them again to see if their tolerance to peanuts remains.
Professor Tang warned that parents should not try the treatment at home, stressing that some children in the trial did have adverse reactions including abdominal pain, vomiting and hives. Children with a history of severe anaphylaxis including collapse or adverse cardiovascular effects were excluded from the study, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
Olivia, whose allergies first became apparent when her lips swelled after eating a peanut butter sandwich at age 2, is now a reluctant peanut convert who will occasionally eat the top off a Drumstick ice-cream to get her daily dose.
Sarah Bridgeman, 10, also received the immunotherapy and probiotic treatment as part of the trial and is now able to eat peanuts, much to the relief of her parents who have long worried about allergic reactions from an accidental ingestion.