Consuming small amounts of peanuts after immunotherapy may prolong the benefits of an allergy treatment

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – A regular dietary intake of peanuts after oral immunotherapy or sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) against peanut allergy could provide continued protection against accidental exposures to the allergen, according to a new study conducted by Edwin Kim, MD, who presented the results at the annual conference of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) in San Francisco.

The observational study followed 55 people who completed the ILO or SLIT peanut immunotherapy trials at UNC-Chapel Hill and who had been sensitized at a dose of between 300 mg and 5 mg. 000 mg of peanut, of which 300 mg representing a peanut core. Desensitization increases the amount of peanut needed to cause an allergic reaction, thus decreasing the likelihood of a serious reaction caused by accidental exposure to peanut.

"People just want to know that they are protected," said Kim, an badistant professor of medicine and pediatrics at the UNC School of Medicine and director of the UNC Food Allergy Initiative. "They do not necessarily want to eat large amounts of their allergens, they just want to be badured that if a restaurant cook makes a mistake or if the label of a food is fake, they do not. Will not have a serious allergic reaction. "

At the end of their immunotherapy trial, participants were encouraged to introduce peanut – containing foods into their diet with a goal of about 300 mg of peanut a day. As part of their long-term follow-up, participants were asked how much they ate, how often they ate it, and how they felt after it.

The majority of participants continued to eat peanuts daily up to eight years after completing their immunotherapy. Among those who still eat peanuts, the median daily intake was 600 mg. No reactions related to accidental ingestion were reported among the 55 participants, but ten people reported allergic reactions to daily peanut-based foods introduced into their diet. The majority of the reactions were benign and treated with antihistamines. However, three reactions required epinephrine and two, EMS. Although these more significant reactions have been infrequent, it should be remembered that the inclusion of dietary peanuts as such should only be done under the guidance of an allergist.

"One of the big questions is: what does life look like after immunotherapy?" Said Kim. "That's what we were trying to answer with this research, and it seems that eating these small amounts of peanuts is safe, can improve the quality of life and can help maintain desensitization."

Kim says more longitudinal studies need to be done, but he and his colleagues hope this research can be applied to other types of food allergies.

###

The UNC School of Medicine (SOM) is the largest state medical school and trains about 180 new physicians a year. She is consistently ranked among the top medical schools in the United States and among the best funded for her research efforts. Two UNC SOM faculty members were awarded the Nobel Prize.

Warning: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of the news releases published on EurekAlert! contributing institutions or for the use of any information via the EurekAlert system.