Peanut allergy could subside thanks to two treatments that have been shown to be effective in children with this type of intolerance. This has been the result of a study carried out by researchers from the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) in which 201 children between 1 and 10 years of age were analyzed over a period of four years and with the follow-up of the minors up to 12 months later. of the treatment.
The two treatments that have been found to be effective in children are oral immunotherapy, which consists of gradually introducing the food that causes the reaction into the diet of the allergic person, and this oral immunotherapy added to taking a probiotic – Lactobacillus rhamnosus– which improves the composition of the bacteria of the intestinal microbiota.
Previously, the research team had already verified that the combined treatment of oral immunotherapy and probiotics managed to remit peanut allergy in 74% of the participants after 18 months of treatment, a figure that dropped slightly to 70% when only account those who could safely eat peanuts four years later.
A great improvement in the quality of life of children
The current results, published in the journal The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, indicated that 46% of children with combined treatment had clinical remission – complete end of allergy – after 18 months of treatment, while this occurred in 51 % of those who received only oral immunotherapy, and only 5% of those who received a placebo. Those who succeeded were able to stop treatment and eat a standard serving of peanuts safely.
Adding a probiotic to oral immunotherapy did not improve its efficacy, but did reduce treatment-associated gastrointestinal symptoms
In addition, the authors explain, both types of treatment improved the children’s quality of life, compared to standard therapy based on avoiding food intake, with the improvement being greater in those who had clinical remission than in those who had clinical remission. who achieved desensitization, which is characterized by being able to eat the food without reactions, but following a treatment for it.
“The addition of a probiotic did not significantly improve efficacy compared to oral immunotherapy; however, it seemed to improve the tolerability of the treatment, with fewer gastrointestinal symptoms, especially in children between one and five years of age”, explained Mimi Tang, director of the investigation.
Dr. Paxton Loke, another of the authors, has stated that children who were in clinical remission had fewer reactions to peanuts compared to those who were only desensitized. “Being desensitized still requires ongoing daily treatment and allergen avoidance, so remission appears to be a better outcome for children.”
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