Many people suffer from allergies, whether it be food or environmental. We may be able to put our minds at ease now that a new immune therapy can protect people with peanut allergies from reactions when exposed.
The therapy, known as sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT), will not be widely available until it can be tested in larger studies, but preliminary studies have shown promising results. During studies, tolerance is built within patients by exposing them to small doses of liquified peanut protein along with treatment which involves liquid drops placed under the tongue. Mild side effects include mouth itch, which only lasts up to 15 minutes.
Of all of the children involved in the study, 86% were able to consume three peanuts after up to four years of treatment, and 32% could tolerate 17 to 20 peanuts. While a couple of peanuts may not seem like a big deal, it could be life-saving for children who could suffer a reaction from just being in the presence of peanuts.
Estimates suggest that nearly 8% of U.S. children and 11% of adults suffer from food-related allergies, so the study holds promise for impacting a huge population.
Pharmaceutical companies are interested in SLIT and are developing products such as peanut capsules and SLIT-based toothpaste. So far, the FDA has approved SLIT for use in tablet form to treat environmental allergens such as pollen, ragweed, and dust mites.
Although not approved by the FDA for food allergies, parents are having their children treated by allergists who offer SLIT for food and environmental allergies.
