Scientists look for clues to tackle peanut allergies
12th December 2006
A scientist from the MRC-Asthma UK centre is to begin a £5 million, seven-year study to try to find out whether exposing infants to peanuts lessens or increases their risk of an allergy developing.
The 480 babies taking part will be aged between four and 11 months old, all already have eczema or an allergy to eggs. Past studies have shown that a quarter of these infants will develop a peanut allergy, which in some cases will be so severe it could be lethal.
Professor Gideon Lack of the MRC-Asthma UK Centre in Allergic Mechanisms of Asthma based at King’s College London and Imperial College London has been comparing peanut allergies in different parts of the world. He explained:
“In some countries we have found an inverse association between consumption of peanuts in the first year of life and the development of peanut allergy. Recent evidence suggests that children who eat peanut snacks early in life may in fact be protected against peanut allergy, in contrast with previous studies which have suggested the opposite.”
He went on:
"We've thought very deeply about this study. Our current health policies may be the root of the problem, we don't know, but simply to sit back and accept the situation we believe would be unethical. All the children will be carefully looked after and rigorously monitored by dietician. Our study findings may result in a change in public health policy to prevent food allergies and will enable scientists to identify important treatment targets to try and develop treatments for children who already suffer from peanut allergy.”
Peanut allergy has doubled in the past 10 years in the UK, and now affects 1 in 70 primary schoolchildren in the UK as well as the USA. Similarly high levels of peanut allergy have been observed in Australia and Canada. Current national and international guidelines in the UK and USA recommend the avoidance of peanuts during pregnancy, breast feeding and the first three years of childhood. But Professor Lack thinks this policy needs to be checked against scientific evidence:
“Determining whether avoidance or early exposure to peanut prevents the development of peanut allergy and understanding how this happens will have important clinical implications.”
Professor Tak Lee, Director of the MRC-Asthma UK Centre in Allergic Mechanisms of Asthma added:
“The evidence to support current guidelines for preventing peanut and other food allergies is lacking. This large trial should provide robust evidence to help inform the right course of action as well as offering a unique opportunity to investigate how and why food allergies develop.”
Interested parents who have a child under 11 months of age with eczema or an egg allergy are invited to contact the Leap study team by telephoning 020 7188 9784, or emailing info@leapstudy.co.uk.
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