Peanut allergy is most dangerous and long-lasting: Research

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Research at the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research has highlighted a process by which children might become allergic to peanuts, without ever tasting them. Prof Graham Le Gros, Director of the Malaghan Institute, leads a team of researchers looking at the early immune responses that take place during the development of food allergy, of which peanut allergy is the most dangerous and long-lasting.

“A child doesn’t just suddenly become allergic to peanuts,” says Prof Le Gros. “Their immune system has to have seen the peanuts beforehand, and become sensitised to them. It is the resulting runaway immune response that is responsible for the symptoms of food allergy such as swelling, skin irritations and breathing difficulties.” “Parents of allergic children will often say however that their child has never eaten peanuts, so we wanted to know how and why these children go on to develop peanut allergies.”

To answer this question Prof Le Gros and senior allergy researcher Dr Elizabeth Forbes-Blom developed unique laboratory food allergy models to investigate whether other routes in the body, such as skin contact, were relevant for sensitising the immune system to peanuts.

Ref and Read more: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC1109/S00065/avoiding-eating-peanuts-may-not-save-children-from-allergy.htm

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