For infants and toddlers who suffer from peanut allergies there may be hope from where least expected: in the peanut itself.
A team of researchers from around the country looked at an approach that has been studied in older children; exposing them to small amounts of peanut proteins in a controlled setting.
They gave infants and toddlers small, who were newly diagnosed with a peanut allergy either low or high amounts of this peanut protein therapy. They found babies who were treated with the therapy had decreased allergic response to peanuts and a month after completing the treatment, four out of five of these babies were still able to eat peanuts safely.
Though some babies had mild reactions to the therapy, these were easily treated with over-the-counter medications.
More research is still needed to show that his effect is long-lasting.
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