Peanut exposure therapy results in desensitization for children with peanut allergies

A British study found that children with peanut allergies who were fed peanut flour, while under supervision of a doctor, over time became desensitized to peanuts.

A British study provides some of the strongest evidence yet that feeding small amounts of peanut flour to children and teens with peanut allergies can help desensitize them to the nuts.

But the approach remains experimental and much too dangerous for anyone to try without medical supervision, experts say.

For the study, published Thursday in the journalLancet, researchers divided 99 children into two groups who took turns undergoing the therapy. The patients ate increasing – but small – amounts of the peanut flour under the watchful eyes of doctors.

In both six-month rounds of therapy, more than half of the treated participants ended up able to eat the equivalent of 10 peanuts at a time. More than 80% could eat the equivalent of five peanuts. The initially untreated children showed no such improvement after the first round.

Some of the treated children did get upset stomachs and one child ended up having an allergic reaction severe enough to require an injection of epinephrine.

The results are "exceptionally promising," but the treatment remains years away from routine use, says an editorial accompanying the study, written by Matthew Greenhawt, a pediatric allergist at the University of Michigan. He also notes that studies have yet to show if patients can develop long-lasting tolerance.

U.S. researchers also are studying the approach – known as oral immunotherapy – for peanuts, walnuts and other allergens, says the non-profit group Food Allergy Research & Education.

For now, the group says, the only proven treatment for peanut allergies is avoidance.

Allergies to peanuts and tree nuts affect 1.4% of U.S. children and rates have been rising, surveys find. Nut allergies are the leading cause of fatal allergic reactions.

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Yes this does seem... fishy.  There could be other reasons to explain this association.  We will have to wait and see.  Dr Susarla.

Does Eating Fish During Infancy Cut Asthma Risk?

FRIDAY, Nov. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Adding fish to babies' diets during the first year of life might reduce their risk of asthma later on, a study by Dutch researchers suggests.

This window of protection appears to occur between 6 months and 12 months of age. Adding fish to the diet before that or not at all in the first year seems to carry an increased risk of wheezing and shortness of breath, the researchers said.

"This study provides insight into what the optimal timing of introduction can be for fish," said lead study author Jessica Kiefte-de Jong, from the pediatrics and epidemiology departments at Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam.

[See: Top Recommended Infant Formulas]

"The results may assist health care workers about the recommendations regarding the introduction of complementary feeding in infants," she added.

Pediatricians may not agree with the findings, however. One expert objects to feeding children fish at such a young age because of potential harms.

"I have never heard that fish is a preventive against asthma," said Dr. Antonio Rodriguez, director of pediatric pulmonology at Miami Children's Hospital.

"There is a danger of an allergic reaction feeding fish to children under 1 year of age," he said. "In addition, there is always concern about the toxicity of mercury in fish."

This is why fish is not fed to infants, he said.

Kiefte-de Jong agreed that before parents start introducing fish to their infants these findings need confirmation in a real clinical trial. She also said the researchers aren't quite sure why eating fish at this age might benefit children's lung health.

[See: Top Recommended Children's Multivitamins]

For the study, published online Nov. 12 in the journal Pediatrics, the research team collected data from a population-based study of more than 7,200 children born between April 2002 and January 2006 in Rotterdam.

Reviewing questionnaires on overall diet, the researchers looked at when parents introduced fish to their infants' diets. They also looked at symptoms of asthma that developed at ages 3 and 4 years.

Children who started eating fish at 6 to 12 months had a significantly lower risk of wheezing when they were 4 years old compared with children who began eating fish later, Kiefte-de Jong's group found.

For children who started eating fish earlier -- or not at all -- within the first year, the risk for wheezing increased at 4 years, they noted. The risk of shortness of breath increased slightly as well.

The researchers acknowledged that other factors besides when the children started eating fish might have influenced the children's breathing ability at preschool age. And the study did not prove that the introduction of fish during the first year of life prevented asthma later on.

Read article here.