A clinical trial shows that it would be possible to become tolerant to peanuts over the long term. A new hope for people frustrated with peanuts-free aperitifs.
Allergy is defined as an excessive and abnormal defense reaction of the immune system. This reaction takes place further to a contact with a substance foreign to our body, normally harmless, called allergen. Examples of allergens include eggs, crustaceans and peanuts.
The causes of the allergy can be diverse, they can arise for example from an atopic history or still from an environment containing allergens.
According to INSERM, it is now estimated that 25 to 30 % of the population is concerned by an allergic disease. Prevalence of allergies is increasing, in particular in the developed countries.
A team of Australian researchers was interested in peanut allergy. This allergen was chosen because it is currently the main cause of fatal anaphylaxis.
They conducted a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled trial to determine the effects of the combination of Lactobacillus rhamnosus and oral immunotherapy. 62 children allergic to peanuts, aged between 1 and 10 years old, were enrolled in one of the two groups of this 18-month study
The children were allocated according to their age (less than 5 years and more than 5 years) and according to the results obtained during the cutaneous tests (size of the allergic reaction less than 10mm or more than 10mm) in order to obtain homogeneous groups.
The first group received daily 2.1010 CFU of Lactobacillus rhamnosus as well as the immunotherapy treatment (peanut flour, 50 % peanut protein) during 18 months, whereas the second received a placebo.
2 to 5 weeks after the treatment, screening tests showed that 82 % of the treated children had become peanut tolerant. Four years later, these children passed a new test: 70 % of the treated children remained tolerant.
If these results are confirmed by wider clinical trials, a probiotic treatment could have an impact on food allergies in children.
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