Archive for allergy
Could poop transplants treat peanut allergy? A clinical trial begins
Increasing evidence supports the idea that the bacteria living in our intestines early in life help shape our immune systems. Factors like cesarean birth, early antibiotics, having pets, number of siblings and formula feeding (rather than breastfeeding) may affect our microbial makeup, or microbiota, and may also affect our likelihood of developing allergies. Could giving ... Read More about Could poop transplants treat peanut allergy? A clinical trial begins
20-week treatment makes life safer for kids with peanut allergy
A study last week in The New England Journal of Medicine suggests that exposing infants to peanuts can provide lasting protection against peanut allergy. But what about peanut-allergic children right now? They and their parents live a life of precautions — from pre-screening birthday party menus to segregation at the school lunch table — to ... Read More about 20-week treatment makes life safer for kids with peanut allergy
Food allergies: Turning tolerance back on
Hans Oettgen, MD, PhD, is Associate Chief of the Division of Allergy and Immunology at Boston Children’s Hospital. He leads a research group investigating mechanisms of allergic diseases. Not long ago I received a wonderful email from “Sam,” an 18-year-old young man with peanut allergy. He was participating in a clinical trial of oral immunotherapy ... Read More about Food allergies: Turning tolerance back on
This post may contain peanuts: Two-pronged treatment may ease severe allergies
Tripp Underwood contributed to this post. Families with peanut-allergic children live in fear that their child will ingest peanuts—even minute amounts—accidentally. Now, a small pilot study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology offers hope for peanut allergy. In the year-long study, immunologist Dale Umetsu, MD, PhD, and colleagues in the Division of Allergy and Immunology at ... Read More about This post may contain peanuts: Two-pronged treatment may ease severe allergies