Peanut allergies, which are a common concern among young children, can now potentially be predicted and treated.
Scientists have developed a medicinal patch that delivers treatment through the skin and helps children tolerate the allergen, possibly allowing them to safely consume a few peanuts.
Peanut Allergy in Children and the History of Treatment Options
Peanut allergy is a life-threatening condition that can make a child’s life significantly challenging. Parents of children with peanut allergies are constantly vigilant about accidental exposure to anything that contains peanuts.
Around 2% of total American children are recorded to have peanut allergies. Their immune system is highly reactive to even a tiny exposure to the allergen, leading to the development of hives, wheezing and eventually needing emergency room visits.
While doctors are yet to find a cure for the condition, a medication known as epinephrine is recommended by the medics as an immediate treatment, according to Cleveland Clinic.
In 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration introduced “oral immunotherapy,” which is called Palforzia, as the first-ever attempt to treat the condition. This therapy requires children between the ages of 4 and 17 to consume it daily to maintain protection against peanut allergy.
Now the newly developed skin patch, called Viaskin, offers a novel way of delivering treatment through the skin to produce a better response to the allergen.
After conducting a trial involving toddlers aged 1 to 3 years, scientists observed that nearly two-thirds of the children who were given the actual medicinal patch were able to consume more peanuts safely after one year of treatment.
In comparison, only about one-third of the toddlers who received the placebo patch showed the same level of improvement, ABC 17 reported.
How the Skin Patch Works
Viaskin, which is attributed to France’s DBV Technologies, is a skin-based immunotherapy. The patch is a tiny quantity of peanut protein that gets…
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