If approved, a new treatment for peanut allergy may enable kids to eat small amounts of peanuts without a severe allergic reaction.
对于患有花生过敏的儿童，家庭外的每一口食物都引起了焦虑。
饼干，蛋糕或其他食物中的花生量可能以严重的过敏反应甚至住院而结束。
一项新研究的结果可能会导致approval of a new treatment that reduces the risk of these kinds of potentially deadly reactions, providing relief not just for children, but also for their parents.
The treatment is not a cure for peanut allergy. Nor is it designed to allow kids to eat entire peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Instead, the goal is to allow them to tolerate small amounts of peanuts.
“Being able to safely eat one or two peanuts is a huge improvement in terms of kids’ quality of life — such as when they go to a friend’s house overnight or to a potluck, and they’re avoiding peanuts but could still accidentally ingest a small amount,” saidDr. Stephen Tilles这是该研究的合着者和美国过敏，哮喘和免疫学学院的前任校长。
For many kids with a peanut allergy, this is enough protection.
“Some children don’t ever want to eat food with peanuts. They just want to be protected in case they get exposed to it,” saidDr. Tina Sindher,斯坦福大学Sean N. Parker过敏和哮喘研究中心的临床助理教授，他没有参与研究。
这项研究的结果周日在西雅图的美国过敏，哮喘和免疫学学院介绍，并于周一出版新英格兰医学杂志。
In the study, 372 children with a known peanut allergy consumed an increasing amount of peanut protein every day for sixth months, starting with minute amounts. This was followed by six months at a “maintenance dose,” the equivalent of one peanut daily.
这种类型的治疗被称为口服免疫疗法，旨在建立免疫系统对过敏原的耐受性。
After one year, over two-thirds of these 4- to 17-year-olds were able to consume 600 milligrams of peanut protein — the equivalent of two peanuts — during a food challenge “with no more than mild symptoms.”
相比之下，在整个研究中服用非花生粉的124名儿童中，只有4％能够忍受相同数量的花生蛋白。
Half of the children in the treatment group were also able to safely consume 1,000 milligrams of peanut protein during the food challenge.
This treatment, though, may not work for everyone.
在研究期间，几乎所有的孩子都有一些不良反应。服用花生蛋白的儿童中最常见的是胃肠疼痛，呕吐，恶心，皮肤发痒，咳嗽和喉咙刺激。
治疗组中约有三分之一的儿童只有轻度症状，而安慰剂组为50％。
Severe side effects occurred in 4.3 percent of kids in the treatment group and less than 1 percent of kids in the placebo group.
此外，在研究期间，治疗组中有14％的儿童接受了严重过敏反应的肾上腺素，而安慰剂组中有6.5％的儿童。
某些副作用足以使一些儿童在研究结束前辍学 - 几乎12％的治疗儿童。Sindher对这个高辍学率并不感到惊讶。
“We see this all the time in the clinic,” she said. “Some kids do not tolerate oral immunotherapy. For example, some have an anaphylactic reaction on a dose they’ve been taking for two or three weeks in a row. There’s a lot of variability in the real world.”
Unfortunately, it’s not possible to predict which children will have bad reactions.
“It’s hard to know who will be on the treatment 1 or 2 years later,” said Tilles. “But this trial suggested, at least after a year of therapy, that there’s a large proportion of patients still doing well.”
尽管该研究成为过敏群体的头条新闻，但有一些警告。该研究中使用的蛋白质粉被称为AR101，由Aimmune Therapeutics开发，该疗法设计和赞助了临床试验。The New York Timesreported that 5 of the 13 main authors are employees of Aimmune Therapeutics. The others are paid to serve on the company’s scientific advisory board.
该治疗仍需要获得美国食品药品监督管理局的批准，然后才能在诊所获得。但是对此可能有很大的需求。
According to the Food Allergy Research & Education网站, the rate of peanut or tree nut allergy among U.S. children more than tripled between 1997 and 2008.
关于40 percent of children with food allergies have experienced a severe allergic reaction such as anaphylaxis.
这并不是研究危险和致命食品过敏的唯一潜在治疗方法。raybet雷竞技下载
Multiple treatments for peanut and other food allergies are currently under development. Sindher said many of these are designed to help children tolerate oral immunotherapy.
DBV Technologies已向FDA提交了免疫疗法的申请这为皮肤提供了很少的花生 - 微克而不是毫克。
赛诺菲is working on an immunotherapy that is delivered under the tongue. In addition to the peanut protein, this includes a compound that may increase the immune system’s tolerance to peanut allergens.
其他治疗被测试使用Omalizumab（过敏医学Xolair） - 侧面免疫疗法。该药物阻断了参与花生过敏反应的抗体。
Stanford researchers are also testing a DNA vaccine that may reduce the body’s inflammatory response to peanuts。The vaccine also doesn’t include the actual peanut proteins, so the risk of an anaphylactic reaction during treatment is lower.
辛德尔不这么认为。
她说：“如果有的话，我们看到花生过敏的发生率每年都会增加。”“但是我们正在提出更多的治疗方法。我们还试图了解有关食物过敏的更多信息，以帮助制定预防策略。”raybet雷竞技下载
One 2015studyfound that introducing some infants to peanuts early on may reduce their risk of developing a peanut allergy.
These treatments may offer children more options than just “avoid, avoid, avoid” and carrying two EpiPens everywhere they go.
“如果治疗工作,孩子将protected when they eat the equivalent of one peanut,” said Sindher. “This is what we call ‘bite-proof.’ If a kid accidentally gets a bite of a cookie with peanuts in it, they’re not going to need to be rushed to the hospital.”
但是，有一项研究可能会大大减少对这类治疗的需求 - 从遗传学上进行低过敏性花生，这是researchers现在正在努力。
