It was a tough nut to crack. But for the first time, children with a potentially lethal peanut allergy have essentially been cured using an oral immunotherapy. "We've shown fantastic results, with [over] 80 per cent of children being able to tolerate eating peanuts regularly after treatment," says Andrew Clark of Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, UK. Two per cent of children are allergic to peanuts, and around 50 people in the US die each yearf rom the allergy. The trial involved 99 children with a peanut allergy aged between 7 and 16. In a hospital setting, half of the children were given a tiny dose of peanut flour - around 2 milligrams -in their food once a day. The same amount was then added to their meals at home for the next two weeks. Then, over a six-month period, the daily peanut dose was ramped up every two weeks, each time at hospital, to reach 800 milligrams - the equivalent of five peanuts. A control group of 50 children received no therapy, and continued to avoid exposure to peanuts.
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