Food Allergy Therapy (1 Viewer)

[Optimus Prime]

Children have been able to enjoy foods that previously would have triggered potentially life-threatening allergic reactions after they took part in a “life-transforming” NHS clinical trial, doctors have reported.

A pioneering £2.5m study is using daily doses of everyday food products, taken under strict medical supervision, rather than drugs to train the bodies of children as young as two to tolerate an allergen.

The approach – known as oral immunotherapy (OIT) – means children living with food allergies may no longer have a reaction if they eat something that accidentally contains the allergen.


“We must wait until the trial is complete for the full picture but we are very pleased with the results we are seeing so far,” said the study’s chief investigator, Hasan Arshad, a professor of allergy and clinical immunology at the University of Southampton.

In total, 139 children and young people aged between two and 23 with a food allergy to peanuts or cow’s milk have begun treatment on the trial.

It is being funded by The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, which was set up by the parents of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse. She died aged 15 in 2016 after experiencing a severe allergic reaction to sesame baked into a Pret a Manger baguette.

Sibel Sonmez-Ajtai, a paediatric allergy consultant at Sheffield Children’s NHS foundation trust, said: “This study is enabling us to do something we would never have dreamed of doing before – giving patients the foods we know they are allergic to.

“This treatment is not a cure for a food allergy, but what it achieves is life-transforming. To have a patient who has had anaphylaxis to 4ml of milk to then tolerate 90ml within six to eight months is nothing less than a miracle.”

Thomas Farmer, 11, who was diagnosed with a severe peanut allergy when he was one, can now eat six peanuts a day after joining the trial in Southampton.


“It will also hopefully mean that he will be able to eat a wider variety of food as we won’t be so concerned about accidental exposure,” his mother, Lauren, said. “For Thomas to be able to achieve all this with no medicine, just off-the-shelf foods, is amazing.”

Grace Fisher, five, who has a milk allergy and joined the trial in Newcastle, is now drinking 120ml of milk a day. Her mother, Emma, said: “Grace is over six months into this journey and is doing amazing. She is currently on 120ml of milk and loves her daily hot chocolates.”…….

NHS trial uses daily doses of food allergens to tackle severe reactions

‘Life-transforming’ trial giving children and young people with milk or peanut allergy small doses to train their bodies to tolerate it

www.theguardian.com

 

[efil4stnias]

Children have been able to enjoy foods that previously would have triggered potentially life-threatening allergic reactions after they took part in a “life-transforming” NHS clinical trial, doctors have reported.

A pioneering £2.5m study is using daily doses of everyday food products, taken under strict medical supervision, rather than drugs to train the bodies of children as young as two to tolerate an allergen.

The approach – known as oral immunotherapy (OIT) – means children living with food allergies may no longer have a reaction if they eat something that accidentally contains the allergen.


“We must wait until the trial is complete for the full picture but we are very pleased with the results we are seeing so far,” said the study’s chief investigator, Hasan Arshad, a professor of allergy and clinical immunology at the University of Southampton.

In total, 139 children and young people aged between two and 23 with a food allergy to peanuts or cow’s milk have begun treatment on the trial.

It is being funded by The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, which was set up by the parents of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse. She died aged 15 in 2016 after experiencing a severe allergic reaction to sesame baked into a Pret a Manger baguette.

Sibel Sonmez-Ajtai, a paediatric allergy consultant at Sheffield Children’s NHS foundation trust, said: “This study is enabling us to do something we would never have dreamed of doing before – giving patients the foods we know they are allergic to.

“This treatment is not a cure for a food allergy, but what it achieves is life-transforming. To have a patient who has had anaphylaxis to 4ml of milk to then tolerate 90ml within six to eight months is nothing less than a miracle.”

Thomas Farmer, 11, who was diagnosed with a severe peanut allergy when he was one, can now eat six peanuts a day after joining the trial in Southampton.


“It will also hopefully mean that he will be able to eat a wider variety of food as we won’t be so concerned about accidental exposure,” his mother, Lauren, said. “For Thomas to be able to achieve all this with no medicine, just off-the-shelf foods, is amazing.”

Grace Fisher, five, who has a milk allergy and joined the trial in Newcastle, is now drinking 120ml of milk a day. Her mother, Emma, said: “Grace is over six months into this journey and is doing amazing. She is currently on 120ml of milk and loves her daily hot chocolates.”…….

NHS trial uses daily doses of food allergens to tackle severe reactions

‘Life-transforming’ trial giving children and young people with milk or peanut allergy small doses to train their bodies to tolerate it

www.theguardian.com

OIT or "exposure/desensitization therapy" has been around for a while.

Our oldest has a milk allergy ( diagnosed at 18 months ) - which is to a specific protein in milk. She also had peanut/tree nut, but did out-grow those allergies around her mid teens.

We broached this very subject years ago with her allergist - Dr. El-Dar of Tulane. Its not for everyone and i wish the article would state this.

There are "levels or a scale" to the sensitivity to a specific allergen. So it is VITALLY important that folks consult with their allergist before seeking out OIT.

Unfortunately for our oldest, her "level" to the milk protein was/is still too high to even attempt OIT.

And after experiencing anaphylaxis once, no one wants to experience it again. While epinephrine is always on hand, its not the cure. It just buys you 20 min to get to hospital for further treatment and depending on the severity of reaction, not all treatments are successful.

So we practice the 100% success plan- avoidance lol.

Makes travel a bit rougher. ( for the longest that i can remember, we never stayed at hotel/airbnb that wasnt within a 15 min drive to a hospital ) Parties/gatherings/etc that much more difficult - but its manageable.

 

[TheRealJRad]

I know it’s not the same same, but one of my dogs is on a similar therapy. He has severe environmental allergies (like he’s chewed all his fur off itchy) and gets injections with concentrated versions of those allergens to desensitize him over time. It’s not a fix, but he’s much more comfortable and the outbreaks (usually December) are far more controlable

It’s expensive though

 

[Optimus Prime]

How do you discover you outgrew an allergy?

 

[efil4stnias]

How do you discover you outgrew an allergy?

Testing. Either skin or blood.
If the reaction/levels are low enough, then comes the food.
I was present for our daughter's peanut butter test. Lol. Even with all the test results, for more than a decade, you avoided this because it could kill your child. Now we sitting in a Dr office about to watch her eat a 1ml of Jif. It's all controlled and after abt 30 min, 2ml.

 

[Optimus Prime]

Did she like the peanut butter?

 

[efil4stnias]

Did she like the peanut butter?

Yeah. Not like she has to have, but doesn't mind it.

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

nice try NHS, you’re still not going to get me to eat Brussels sprouts

 

[nolaswede]

nice try NHS, you’re still not going to get me to eat Brussels sprouts

Oven roasted brussel sprouts - Yum!

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

Oven roasted brussel sprouts - Yum!

I understand that you are in prison- where are the hiding you?

 

[nolaswede]

I understand that you are in prison- where are the hiding you?

Well, I am married, but it’s really not that bad!

 

[Optimus Prime]

Guess this can go here

Never even heard of pea protein before
=================

My last brush with mortality came in April, at a branch of Starbucks. Finding myself running early for a meeting, I took the chance to pop in for my usual: a latte and a ham-and-cheese croissant. As I waited for the barista to pour my coffee, I took a nibble of the pastry. Within a minute, my lower lip was swollen and blistering.

I checked the ingredients list. Though I’d ordered this very same item about once a month for years, I knew what was coming: this croissant now contained peas.

Does that sound weird to you? Have a rummage through your kitchen. In the last five years foods as varied as sausages, frozen chips, ice-cream, sliced ham and bread have started to include a new ingredient: pea protein. Peas are now everywhere – and for people like me, with an allergy to legumes, it’s a hidden nightmare.


Peas and legumes used to be easy to avoid. If I stayed away from food from north Africa and the Middle East, I was mostly fine. No longer. Who could guess that a bowl of pasta might hide lentil flour, or that sausages can be stocked full of powdered peas?

McDonald’s, once a safe option for many, has recently added pea protein to every single bun on its menu.

What was a minor inconvenience for the first three and a half decades of my life is now a huge drain on my time, a limit on my enjoyment of life and a constant source of risk: even the smallest touch on my lips can lead to lip and tongue swelling, and if I eat a significant portion without realising it, I suffer drooling and severe stomach pain.

As gluten-free diets have become common, pea protein has begun to replace wheat flour as a filler in a whole range of products, and forms a key component of many vegan meat alternatives.

It is both rich in vitamins and minerals and extremely cheap, which makes it attractive to food manufacturers who want to boost their bottom line and eco credentials, and highlight the health benefits of their products…….

Eating out with a food allergy is stressful enough – but with a rare one, it's a nightmare | Hannah Fearn

I didn’t expect my lips to swell and blister when I bit into a croissant – but pea protein is suddenly everywhere, says social affairs writer Hannah Fearn

www.theguardian.com

 

[efil4stnias]

Guess this can go here

Never even heard of pea protein before
=================

My last brush with mortality came in April, at a branch of Starbucks. Finding myself running early for a meeting, I took the chance to pop in for my usual: a latte and a ham-and-cheese croissant. As I waited for the barista to pour my coffee, I took a nibble of the pastry. Within a minute, my lower lip was swollen and blistering.

I checked the ingredients list. Though I’d ordered this very same item about once a month for years, I knew what was coming: this croissant now contained peas.

Does that sound weird to you? Have a rummage through your kitchen. In the last five years foods as varied as sausages, frozen chips, ice-cream, sliced ham and bread have started to include a new ingredient: pea protein. Peas are now everywhere – and for people like me, with an allergy to legumes, it’s a hidden nightmare.


Peas and legumes used to be easy to avoid. If I stayed away from food from north Africa and the Middle East, I was mostly fine. No longer. Who could guess that a bowl of pasta might hide lentil flour, or that sausages can be stocked full of powdered peas?

McDonald’s, once a safe option for many, has recently added pea protein to every single bun on its menu.

What was a minor inconvenience for the first three and a half decades of my life is now a huge drain on my time, a limit on my enjoyment of life and a constant source of risk: even the smallest touch on my lips can lead to lip and tongue swelling, and if I eat a significant portion without realising it, I suffer drooling and severe stomach pain.

As gluten-free diets have become common, pea protein has begun to replace wheat flour as a filler in a whole range of products, and forms a key component of many vegan meat alternatives.

It is both rich in vitamins and minerals and extremely cheap, which makes it attractive to food manufacturers who want to boost their bottom line and eco credentials, and highlight the health benefits of their products…….

Eating out with a food allergy is stressful enough – but with a rare one, it's a nightmare | Hannah Fearn

I didn’t expect my lips to swell and blister when I bit into a croissant – but pea protein is suddenly everywhere, says social affairs writer Hannah Fearn

www.theguardian.com

I can so relate lol


We've been reading labels, calling mfgs for 20 years.

We still read labels on items we purchase because this happens all the time. And whey is a derivative of milk and used as a preservative or filler. Many items over the years we have had to stop buying for this reason.

Pain in the arse.

 

[UpHere]

my wife was recently diagnosed celiac (she's pretty P'Oed it took this long) but as the main "cook" in the house, my label reading and knowing the triggers is now 2nd nature - our kids were lucky enough to not have any allergies, myself neither - but I figured why should she be the only one to suffer a new diet, so I'm doing it too... I've found out there are some very good replacements for gluten products, and it seems to be getting more and more prevalent alternatives

and brussels sprouts are the food of the gods

 

[longtime lurker]

My youngest son (9) has severe food and environmental allergies. We’ve had to use his epipen twice, hundreds of doses of benadryl and several trips to the ER over the years. It’s been some kind of ride so far. My wife and I are on constant alert for his next episode. We’ve discussed this therapy with my son’s doctors, and unfortunately they don’t recommend it yet for him. No beef, dairy, peanuts, and a thousand other things…he can only eat a few things without a reaction and his autism makes it impossible for him to understand why.

I feel for everyone with allergies. You have my sincere understanding.