Research into peanut allergy offers hope

A TRIAL aimed at helping children overcome peanut allergies has produced "very promising results", researchers have said.

Experts found youngsters could build up tolerance to peanuts if given daily drops of peanut protein under the tongue.

It is the first time scientists have used peanut drops, which they say have fewer side effects than the peanut flour used in other studies.

About one in 50 youngsters in the UK suffers a peanut allergy, which can cause breathing problems and, in severe cases, potentially fatal anaphylaxis.

Experts recruited 18 children aged between one and 11.

Eleven of the children were given daily drops containing increasing doses of peanut protein while seven were given dummy drops.

The results showed that, after one year, those children on the peanut drops had built up their tolerance until they were consuming the equivalent of five to ten peanuts a day.

Meanwhile, those on placebo drops were unable to tolerate even one peanut.

Dr Edwin Kim, of Duke University Hospital in North Carolina, who led the study, said: "We have seen very promising results."