An experimental skin patch has shown promise for treating babies who are highly allergic to peanuts by training their bodies to cope with accidental consumption, according to a US study.
Peanut allergy is one of the most common and dangerous food allergies, and parents of allergic children are constantly on the lookout for exposures that could turn birthday parties or playtime into trips to the ER, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
With no cure, the only treatment is for children ages 4 and older, who can consume a special peanut powder to protect against a serious reaction.
The patch being studied, called Viaskin, aims to administer this type of treatment through the skin to children under four years of age.
A large trial of 1- to 3-year-olds helped those who couldn’t tolerate even a small portion of peanuts safely eat a few pieces, researchers reported Wednesday.
If additional testing is done, these patches could “fill a huge unmet need,” says Matthew Greenhawt, an allergy physician at Children’s Hospital Colorado who helped lead the study.
About 2% of American children are allergic to peanuts, some so severe that even a small amount can cause a life-threatening reaction.
Your immune system overreacts to foods containing peanuts, triggering an inflammatory cascade that causes hives, wheezing, or worse.
Some young people outgrow the allergy, but most must avoid peanuts for life and carry “SOS” medication to avoid a serious reaction if they accidentally ingest the food.
In 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first treatment to induce peanut tolerance — an “oral immunotherapy” called Palforzia that children ages 4 to 17 take daily to maintain protection.
Palforzia from Aimmuno Therapeutics is also being tested in children between 1 and 2 years old.
Meanwhile, France’s DBV Technologies is looking at skin-based immunotherapy as an alternative way to desensitize the body to allergens.
The Viaskin patch is coated with a small amount of peanut protein that is absorbed through the skin.
A daily patch is used between the shoulder blades where babies cannot remove it.
In the new study, 362 children with peanut allergies were first tested to see how high a dose of peanut protein they could tolerate. They were then randomly assigned to wear either the Viaskin patch or a dummy patch every day.
After a year of treatment, the children were retested, and about two-thirds who wore the real patch were able to safely eat more peanuts, the equivalent of three to four, compared to a third compared to those given the fake patches. the researchers concluded.
In terms of safety, four Viaskin recipients experienced an allergic reaction called anaphylaxis, which turned out to be related to the patch. Three were treated with epinephrine to suppress the response and one withdrew from the study.
Some young people also accidentally ate foods containing peanuts during the study, and the researchers noted that allergic reactions were less common among Viaskin users than among those using the fake patches. The most common side effect was skin irritation at the patch site.
These results have been published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The findings “are very good news for young children and their families as the next step toward a future with more treatments for food allergies,” said Alkis Togias of the National Institutes of Health, who was not involved in the study.
DBV Technologies struggled for years to bring the adhesive to market. Last month, the company announced that the FDA wants some additional safety data for babies, and a separate study is already tracking longer treatments.
There is also an ongoing study for children between the ages of 4 and 7.
Source: DN
