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A new experimental drug could help people with allergies lead a more normal life. The drug, called AR101, is awaiting FDA approval. A new study has shown the results obtained in children and adolescents. It does not cure peanut allergy, but it allows those who suffer from it to have a less severe reaction.
These allergies are not a joke. People with peanut allergies often have to change their mode of transportation, diet and lifestyle. Exposure, even in very small amounts, can cause rashes, difficulty breathing, and even death.
Historically, when an allergy was developing – often at a young age – parents had little choice but to watch over their child, and doctors advised avoiding all life. For many kids, it meant going to birthdays with their own treats and taking a whole bunch of medications.
What types of symptoms and reactions do children have foods they are allergic to?
For some children, an allergic reaction to a particular food may simply be an uncomfortable tingling of the lips and mouth. For others, it is a serious medical emergency, even fatal. Symptoms of food allergy usually take between a few minutes and two hours after the meal. The most common signs and symptoms include:
– tingling or itching in the mouth
– hives or itchy skin
– Swelling of the lips, face, tongue and throat or other parts of the body
– Nasal congestion
– Difficulty breathing
– abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting
– Dizziness, dizziness
Some children develop anaphylaxis, a serious, life-threatening reaction that includes constriction of the airways, difficulty breathing, severe drop in blood pressure, rapid pulse, dizziness, dizziness, or loss of consciousness. People with anaphylaxis symptoms should use their epinephrine auto-injector if they wear one and go immediately to emergencies.
The new study, which was based on a representative survey of parents of nearly 40,000 American children, found that one in five children with food allergy went to the emergency room for symptoms related to food allergy. times the year before. These data are consistent with previous research that showed that there was an almost 200% increase in emergency department visits for severe allergic reactions from 2005 to 2014 among 5-17 year olds.
What are the treatments we have now for severe allergic reactions?
For some people, a mild allergic reaction can cause a rash and itchy throat. For these people, doctors recommend close monitoring of foods that might be causing it and ingesting antihistamines like Benadryl and Pepcid.
If you see a person with a severe allergic reaction, it is important to act quickly and immediately call 911. You can use an epinephrine auto-injector at the places of the patient. event and try to keep the person calm.
In the hospital, doctors often treat antihistamines and intravenous steroids, as well as epinephrine injected directly into the muscle of the thigh or arm to treat the reaction and blunt a possible recurrence 4 to 6 hours after the initial exposure. .
What is AR101?
A group from the University of Cambridge showed in 2014 that using a processed form of peanut flour, it could induce a less severe allergic reaction over time in children. At present, a new study called PALISADES trial has presented a new option that gives promising results – with AR101.
In the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers treated people who are highly allergic to peanuts, unable to tolerate even half of a peanut without severe symptoms, and gave them either a placebo powder or AR101 .
AR101 is an oral immunotherapy drug derived from peanuts themselves. The researchers exposed the group to small amounts of peanut powder. The goal was not to cure allergy, but rather to allow minor or accidental exposures without it triggering a life-threatening reaction.
After months of ingesting the drug orally, many children were able to tolerate the equivalent of 2 to 4 peanuts with a minor reaction or no reaction at all. There were some challenges. The adverse reactions caused by the treatment caused the abandonment of 11% of the group of drugs and 14% of the children in the group ended up using an epinephrine auto-injector for drug-related reactions. This is not a medicine to start at home.
That being said, as nearly one in fifty American children are allergic to peanuts, this new drug is expected to be in high demand. But there are still questions to answer. We do not know the long-term effects of ingestion of allergens and we do not know how long the immune response will last. Yet most parents would agree that eating a small pill every day to live in fear is a small price to pay. However, we do not know how much the drug would cost.
Johanna Kreafle, M.D. is an emergency physician at the Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, and a member of the ABC News Medical Unit.
Sumir Shah, M.D. is an emergency physician in New York and a member of the ABC News Medical Unit.
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