Immunotherapy for peanut allergy

A randomised controlled trial recently published in The Lancet showed that giving children and adolescents with peanut allergies increasing doses of the peanut protein over time built up their tolerance in most cases.  Allergic reactions became less severe, and tolerance of more than an accidental quantity of peanuts became significantly improved.  "Assessing the efficacy of oral immunotherapy for the desensitisation of peanut allergy in children (STOP II): a phase 2 randomised controlled trial" by Katherine Anagnostou et al, trialled 99 medically supervised children between 7 and 16 years and found that most of them experienced a "clinically meaningful increase in peanut threshold. Quality of life improved after intervention and there was a good safety profile."

A useful summary of the study can be found on The Conversation, "Small doses therapy shows promise for peanut allergy". 

The Lancet, Early Online Publication, 30 January 2014 doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(13)62301-6.  Ask your librarian if you have trouble accessing the full text.