Potential therapies for peanut allergy

Monday, 01 November 2010 11:21

More than 120 articles relating to therapies for peanut allergy have recently been reviewed to investigate what treatment options are available to patients, beyond avoidance measures and self-injectable epinephrine.

Many studies into different therapies for food allergy have been published over the past one and a half decades. While some of these have shown promising results, their long-term efficacy is not yet known. The authors of the review believe some of the new desensitisation techniques may become accepted therapy within the next decade and will provide patients with the ability to tolerate amounts of peanut in an unintentional ingestion without experiencing anaphylaxis. Achieving this level of desensitisation would offer significant peace of mind to patients and families living with peanut allergy.

Reference: Stahl & Rans 2010, Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. DOI:10.1016/j.anai.2010.08.009