Published: 10 May 2024
Giving small daily doses of milk or peanuts to children who are allergic to them can help train their bodies to tolerate the allergens, according to early results from a new trial.
Researchers hope this approach will enable children with food allergies to live without the fear of a potentially fatal reaction. UK hospital admissions for severe allergic reactions to food have tripled in the last 20 years. Young people are most likely to be affected.
The Natasha Trial
The £2.5m trial is funded by Natasha Allergy Research Foundation. The three-year trial is led by researchers at the University of Southampton, University Hospital Southampton (UHS) and Imperial College London. It is being run at five hospitals including NIHR Southampton Clinical Research Facility.
The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation was set up in memory of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who died aged 15 from a severe food allergic reaction to sesame baked into a Pret a Manger baguette. Her parents Nadim and Tanya set up the foundation, which has funded the Natasha Trial.
How the trial works
To date 139 children and young people aged 2 to 23 with severe peanut or cow’s milk allergies have started treatment. They are given small amounts of the food or drink they are allergic to under medical supervision. The aim is to train the patient’s body to tolerate the substance. This approach is known as oral immunotherapy (OIT).
While previous studies have shown that OIT can prevent food allergies developing in the first place by up to 77%, this trial aims to show that everyday foods can be a treatment for food allergies.
Doctors say they are already seeing children on the trial who are able to consume and tolerate the very foods which previously would have triggered a severe allergic reaction.
A ‘major first step’
Professor Hasan Arshad, who is Professor of Allergy and Clinical Immunology at the University of Southampton, part of NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre Respiratory and Allergy theme, and Chief Investigator of the trial, said: “We are testing a clinically controlled procedure of gradual introduction of allergen foods until the point where these are tolerated. We must wait until the trial is complete for the full picture, but we are very pleased with the results we are seeing so far.”
If successful, the trial will provide the evidence for the treatment to be made available on the NHS. Using everyday products to treat food allergies would also be a cheaper alternative to expensive pharmaceuticals, saving the NHS money.
Tanya Ednan-Laperouse, Natasha’s mother, said: “We are so happy that some children with peanut and milk allergies are already seeing the benefits of using everyday foods under medical supervision to treat their allergic disease.
“If Natasha were alive today, this is exactly the type of research she would have loved to be part of. This is a major first step in our mission to make food allergies history. We look forward to seeing the final results.”
Taking part in clinical trials
Thomas Farmer from the New Forest, was diagnosed with a severe peanut allergy when he was one. When he joined the Natasha Trial in March 2023, he could not tolerate even half a peanut. By January 2024, he was eating 6 peanuts a day – a dose he will keep in his diet.
His mother Lauren said: “Having food allergies can be really difficult and isolating. As parents, who have lived with managing a peanut allergy for nearly 10 years, we knew we wanted to see if there was a way to understand it better and help to manage the allergy.
“Knowing that Thomas can now tolerate six peanuts a day has taken away so much anxiety around food. It will also hopefully mean that he will be able to eat a wider variety of food as we won’t be so concerned about accidental exposure.
“For Thomas to be able to achieve all this with no medicine – just off the shelf foods – is amazing.”
NIHR Be Part of Research
You can also search for a trial or study currently recruiting patients. There are currently seven studies recruiting patients for peanut allergy trials on the NIHR be part of research