Experimental treatment could protect kids against peanut allergies

Peanuts.
(Image credit: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

After participating in a yearlong clinical trial about peanut allergies, two-thirds of the young participants are now able to ingest the equivalent of two peanuts a day without any adverse reactions.

The results of the study were announced Sunday during the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology conference in Seattle. The oral immunotherapy regimen did not work for all participants — 20 percent of the children involved had to leave the trial — and is not a cure for peanut allergies, but does aim to reduce sensitivity to peanuts, so a child that accidentally comes into contact with one does not suffer a major reaction.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.