Researchers took advantage of the fact that heat can affect the structure and immunoreactivity of peanuts, and tested out a peanut allergy therapy for children using sequential doses of boiled peanuts followed by roasted peanuts. Their trial, which is published in Clinical & Experimental Allergy, generated promising results, with 80% of participants experiencing desensitisation.
For this open-label, phase 2, single-arm clinical trial, 70 children aged 6–18 years old with peanut allergies received 12-hour boiled peanuts for 12 weeks, 2-hour boiled peanuts for 20 weeks, and roasted peanuts for 20 weeks, to a target maintenance dose of 12 roasted peanuts daily.
Fifty-six of the 70 (80%) participants became desensitised to peanuts. Treatment-related adverse events were reported in 43 (61%) participants, of whom three withdrew from the trial.
“Oral immunotherapy using boiled followed by roasted peanuts represents a pragmatic approach that appears effective in inducing desensitisation and is associated with a favourable safety profile,” the authors wrote.
Source: Wiley
