Is a peanut allergy treatment on the horizon?

Researchers can't cure a peanut allergy, but they may be able to treat it.

Peanut allergy is the most common type of food allergy, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, and it’s often a life-threatening one. Children with peanut allergy often must be separated from their peers during meal times, among other careful measures to protect them from possible exposure.

But a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine shows promising results for an individual’s reaction to peanuts to be diminished. In the study, two out of three children with a peanut allergy were able to safely consume two peanuts without any resulting symptoms.

“It does not make the allergy go away,” said lead author Dr. Brian Vickery. But the treatment could erase fears of accidental contamination for many with a life-threatening peanut allergy.

“I’m telling parents when I see them that my hope is that patients will have access by late next summer,” Vickery added.

If the treatment receives approval, many parents of children with peanut allergy could be resting much easier by late next year.

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