Around the world, millions of people are affected by peanut allergy. Recently, a European study offers hope for a treatment aimed at reducing symptoms.
Swallowing one or more peanuts by mistake is the fear of people with peanut allergies. In Europe alone, no less than 17 million people are concerned. Moreover, the number of allergic people would have doubled between 2005 and 2015! If the cause of this evil is still unknown, it may well be that a solution will come to relieve these people in the near future. In any case, this is what a European study published in The Lancet Child &Adolescent Health on July 20, 2020 promises.
You should know that allergic reactions to peanuts occur when the body identifies the fruit as a harmful substance. This mistake causes the immune system to overreact . This then releases various chemical substances such as histamine, the purpose of which is to neutralize the intruder.
Allergic reactions can be different in different individuals. Some cases are not serious, but there are others that are much more worrying. In these extreme cases, people develop an anaphylactic reaction may cause breathing and swallowing problems. It can also be inflammation of the tongue and lips and in some cases loss of consciousness. Without treatment, an anaphylactic shock can occur with a significant risk of death.
The study focused on 175 individuals between the ages of four and seventeen peanut allergies. The researchers formed two groups, a placebo group and a second in which the members had to ingest amounts of protein from allergenic peanuts. The study lasted nine months and the amounts of peanuts increased over time. According to the results, 58% of volunteers became able to tolerate the ingestion of three or four peanuts. On the side of the placebo group, only 2% of the volunteers obtained this ability.
If there is hope, the authors of the study still wanted to issue a warning . Indeed, the study suggests that it is only possible to reduce the risks in the case of accidental peanut ingestion. In other words, there is no question of allowing people with allergies to eat this fruit normally.
Already in 2019, researchers at the University of British Columbia (Canada) carried out an immunotherapy program aimed at treating allergy to 'peanut . Practiced on young children, the objective was to accustom their organism in order to generate a certain tolerance to the fruit.
