Peanut Allergy
Turns out the secret to beating a peanut allergy is…peanuts - Chase Purdy
image by: John Crist
HWN Recommends
The source of peanut allergies has been found in a surprising place
Scientists have discovered an allergy factory in a surprising place: the human gut.
It's been known that when the immune system encounters an allergen, it produces immunoglobulin E (IGe) antibodies. These antibodies bind to allergens and cause hives, shortness of breath, and anaphylaxis, symptoms that can result in death. These antibodies are the reason some people swell up from a whiff of peanut butter, while others gobble Skippy without a problem.
Now, a study... in Science points to the gut as the home of these allergy-causing antibodies, which offers insight into the mechanisms that drive their existence. The research was conducted on people with peanut allergies, but the…
Resources
Therapy Could Cure Your Peanut Allergy
New research funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases shows that oral immunotherapy—the process of eating small, gradually increasing amounts of peanut—can successfully suppress peanut allergies in young children.
Nestlé Moves Further Into Health, Buying Peanut-Allergy Treatment Maker
The treatment isn’t intended to allow allergic patients to begin eating peanuts, but rather to reduce the risk of reactions after accidental exposures. Children who take the new therapy are still advised to keep avoiding peanuts and maintain access to emergency epinephrine shots, such as EpiPen, in case of reactions.
New Peanut Allergy Drug Shows ‘Lifesaving’ Potential
Results from a new study may lead to approval of what could be the first drug that ameliorates potentially deadly reactions in children with severe peanut allergies.
Peanut allergy may start in the gut – opening up new ways to tackle it
Severe food allergies can be terrifying, both for the person affected and their loved ones. Allergies are increasing and affect between 3% and 6% of the population. But science has yet to fully grasp the reasons why. One theory – which appears to be backed up by the evidence of a new study – is that the answer lies in the human gut.
Peanut-allergy therapy 'protection not a cure'
Treating peanut allergy with regular exposure to small amounts of the food is effective - but only if a patient stays on the therapy, a study suggests.
Peanuts, eggs and your baby: How to introduce food allergens during the coronavirus pandemic
The best way to prevent food allergies is to introduce the most common allergenic foods to babies early in life, as research evidence for peanut and egg has shown. Even during the current COVID-19 pandemic, the benefits of allergy prevention outweigh the very small risk of a severe reaction.
The U.S. Health-Care System Found a Way to Make Peanuts Cost $4,200
A new, billion-dollar pharmaceutical to treat peanut allergies is up for approval. It’s simply peanut flour.
Tough nuts: why peanuts trigger such powerful allergic reactions
Food allergens are the scourge of the modern school lunchbox. Many foods contain proteins that can set off an oversized immune reaction and one of the fiercest is the humble peanut.
Turns out the secret to beating a peanut allergy is…peanuts
It’s possible to limit the risks of a peanut allergy by giving people with the allergy a minuscule and sustained dose of the nut itself. The method proved so successful in the laboratory setting that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is now reviewing a new, peanut-derived drug produced by Aimmune Therapeutics that may one day help people develop a tolerance to peanut exposure.
Another Reason to Give Babies Peanut Butter
A new study finds early exposure to the legume can stave off allergies among high-risk children—even if they go a year without eating peanuts later in childhood.
Australia Just Cured Your Peanut Allergy
Scientists from Down Under may have discovered a cure for peanut allergies—and it requires nothing more than a bit of bacteria that's naturally found in yogurt.
Feed Your Kids Peanuts, Early and Often, New Guidelines Urge
Peanuts are back on the menu. In a significant reversal from past advice, new national health guidelines call for parents to give their children foods containing peanuts early and often, starting when they’re infants, as a way to help avoid life-threatening peanut allergies.
Hey, Baby, Meet Peanuts: How And When To Safely Introduce The Food
Peanut allergies can be among a parent's biggest worries, though we've had good evidence for more than a year that when most babies are 6 months old or so, introducing foods that contain finely ground peanuts can actually reduce babies' chances of becoming allergic to the legumes. Even so, many parents are scared to do that.
How Food Allergies Can Destroy Your Life
After a couple bad experiences with trace amounts of peanuts, I was sent into a spiral of anxiety and fear that took me months to recover from.
Peanut allergy cured in children using immunotherapy
A potentially life-threatening peanut allergy has been essentially cured in nine out of 10 recipients of a new treatment which gradually escalates the amount of peanut protein the body can tolerate. Other treatments such as vaccines and antibodies are also under development, but the new oral immunotherapy is claimed to be the first to successfully allow people to tolerate such a food allergy.
Peanut allergy in babies successfully treated in US with immunotherapy
Of 40 children allergic to peanuts, nearly 80% were able to eat nuts after receiving oral immunotherapy, researchers say.
Shielding kids from peanuts might cause peanut allergies
Children are much less likely to develop peanut allergies if they are frequently fed peanuts, according to a new study published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine. The findings are part of a shifting understanding of what causes peanut allergies — one that's pointing away from avoiding nuts while young.
The advice on babies and peanut butter just got a massive update
Want to prevent peanut allergies? Feed your babies peanut butter.
The Cure for Peanut Allergies Could Be More Peanuts
Researchers in England have found that roughly 80 percent of children with peanut allergies who participated in an experimental treatment were able to build resistance to the allergy.
Why are peanut allergies on the rise?
Peanut allergies are still relatively rare — affecting about 1 to 2 percent children in the United States. But some studies have indeed found evidence that the number of reported nut allergies is increasing over time. That said, it's tough to disentangle this from broader trends.
Why Are So Many Kids Allergic to Peanuts?
Theories abound, though, and most involve an overactive immune system. "We have done such a good job of eliminating the threats that the immune system is supposed to manage, that it's looking for something to do," says Anne Muñoz-Furlong, CEO of the nonprofit Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network.
The source of peanut allergies has been found in a surprising place
A new study points to how allergy-causing antibodies could be hijacked.
Introducing Stitches!
Your Path to Meaningful Connections in the World of Health and Medicine
Connect, Collaborate, and Engage!
Coming Soon - Stitches, the innovative chat app from the creators of HWN. Join meaningful conversations on health and medical topics. Share text, images, and videos seamlessly. Connect directly within HWN's topic pages and articles.