Nut allergy ‘hits Asian children’

This article is based on only 2 clinics in London, England seeing an increase in nut allergies. It needs more research since there can be many reasons why this could be happening. The research needs to include many more clinics.

A disproportionately high number of Asian children are being diagnosed with nut allergy, a leading expert says.

Dr Abbass Khakoo, medical director at London’s Hillingdon Hospital, is a specialist in food allergies.

He said children from ethnic minorities were over-represented at his two London clinics.

He has found children from ethnic backgrounds appear to display symptoms of nut allergies at a younger age than their white counterparts.

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Sheffield, UK girl (8) takes part in peanut-flour trials

I love hearing about these studies. It just opens up so many possabilities for people to not have to worry.

Hopes of a normal life for nut allergy victim Charlotte

Published Date: 13 March 2009

A Sheffield girl is taking part in a groundbreaking medical trial that could cure her of a nut allergy that currently threatens her life.

Charlotte Kirkland, aged eight, is so allergic to peanuts and other nuts that she has to carry medication in case she falls ill. She can’t have ice-cream, sweets or cakes unless her parents, Wendy and David from Stocksbridge, have carefully checked all the ingredients on the packet and are confident they contain no traces of nuts or nut oils.

Now it hoped that she may eventually be able to lead a normal life as a result of trials at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge where doctors are using a new technique to built up children’s tolerance. By the end of the programme they should be able to eat the equivalent of five peanuts a day safely.
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Tiny study suggests peanut allergy can be overcome

This is a very small study, but it’s a start. Hopefully this will trigger a larger study to make this more reliable.
 

Doctors in Britain are closer to finding a cure for severe nut allergies, according to a study published Friday.

A research team at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge exposed children gradually to tiny amounts of peanuts over six months to build up their tolerance.

It is the first time such a desensitization program has been used to treat a food allergy.

Four children — who risked fatal anaphylactic shock from contact with traces of peanut — took part in the study published in Allergy.

The children were initially given a dose of five milligrams but by the end were able to tolerate 880 milligrams — equal to five peanuts.

“We’ve shown it works. We’ve shown it can be done safely. Now we’re at the stage where we need a larger trial and perhaps a control group, so that we can show it has a large effect,” said Dr. Andy Clark, the study’s lead researcher.

The research provides hope for the one in 50 young people in Britain with a nut allergy, he added.

“Every time people with a peanut allergy eat something, they’re frightened that it might kill them. Our motivation was to find a treatment that would change that and give them the confidence to eat what they like,” Clark told the Guardian.

Thirteen-year-old Carl Morris took part in the study.

“I got pretty scared when I was eating things with traces of nuts, but now I can just freely explore different foods that may have killed me before,” he said.

Kate Frost is the mother of a nine-year-old boy who participated in the study.

“It’s very hard to describe how much of a difference it’s made, not just in Michael’s life, but for all of us,” Frost told the BBC.

“A peanut allergy affects the whole family. You can’t go out to a restaurant. If your child goes to a birthday party, he takes a packed lunch.”

It’s estimated that more than 150,000 Canadians suffer from peanut allergies. About two per cent of people can have an anaphylactic reaction to an allergen, and peanut allergies account for 50 to 100 deaths in the United States every year.

via Tiny study suggests peanut allergy can be overcome.