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Here's Today's Feel-Good Story:
A skin patch to combat peanut allergies in children under 4 has been shown to be safe and effective in a landmark trial.
The patch works like exposure therapy, training a toddler's immune system to tolerate the proteins in peanuts that cause allergies.
More than 300 kids participated in the study for 12 months, and 67% of them didn't experience adverse reactions to peanuts by the end of it.
“We were excited to contribute to this landmark study that carries so much promise for our young patients with peanut allergy,” said co-author Melanie Makhija, MD, who was the Principal Investigator of the study at Lurie Children’s Hospital.
“Children who originally reacted to a small fraction of a peanut were able to tolerate the equivalent of one to four peanuts after completing the treatment course. This means that these children will be well protected from accidental exposure to peanuts. Importantly, we found that the peanut patch was safe, with very low chances of a severe allergic reaction.”