Is immunotherapy the answer to peanut allergy purgatory?

Is immunotherapy the answer to peanut allergy purgatory?

Peanut allergy can be deadly, and evidence shows that this food allergy affects nearly two percent of people in some Western countries. While the standard treatment for peanut allergy is to avoid exposure, oral immunotherapy is a heavily debated treatment option. An editorial published today by Wiley in Clinical & Experimental Allergy reviews the literature for peanut oral immunotherapy, specifically examining the effectiveness of Palforzia, the first licensed peanut allergy treatment.

“Trusted evidence in allergy is sought by clinicians and care givers alike, making it more important than ever to showcase perspectives that are free from commercial influence,” said Dr Robert J. Boyle, Editor of Clinical & Experimental Allergy. In his editorial, Dr. Michael R. Perkin from the Population Health Research Institute at St George's University of London, offers an independent perspective of Palforzia in treating allergy to peanuts.

Dr. Perkin questions if Palforzia is even necessary, calling for “thorough discussions related to peanut immunotherapy issues such as adverse events requiring adrenaline auto injectors, episodes of life-threatening anaphylaxis and potential long-term side effects.”

Related Peanut Allergy Research Articles

• Longitudinal antibody responses to peanut following probiotic and peanut oral immunotherapy (PPOIT) in children with peanut allergy
• Early-life predictors and risk factors of peanut allergy, and its association with asthma in later-life
• Oral desensitization therapy for peanut allergy induces dynamic changes in peanut-specific immune responses
• The global burden of illness of peanut allergy: A comprehensive literature review

Relevant Conference

World Allergy Organization Conference | April 25-27, 2022 | Edinburgh International Conference Centre in Scotland.

Additional Information 

MEDIA CONTACT

For more information or to obtain a PDF of any research article, please contact:

Dawn Peters +1 781-388-8408 (US)
newsroom@wiley.com
 

About the author

Dr Perkin is a Consultant in Paediatric Allergy at St George’s Hospital, London & Reader in Clinical Epidemiology at St George's, University of London. For eight years he co-led the FSA/MRC funded “EAT” (Enquiring About Tolerance) Study the results of which were published in March 2016 in the New England Journal of Medicine. His research interests are the epidemiology of allergic disease, the prevention of food allergy and the environmental contribution to the allergy epidemic.

Editorial Author Contact: mperkin@sgul.ac.uk The author has no Conflict of Interest to declare in relation to this work.

About the Journal
Clinical & Experimental Allergy strikes an excellent balance between clinical and scientific articles and carries regular reviews and editorials written by leading authorities in their field. Published by Wiley, Clinical & Experimental Allergy is the trusted source of evidence in allergy and is the official journal of the British Society for Allergy & Clinical Immunology.

About Wiley

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