Children play guinea-pigs in peanut allergy study

From timeson-line.co.uk/parents by Lewis Smith

A seven-year study into peanut allergy is being launched in an attempt to determine the best way to prevent the condition. The number of primary school children who suffer from peanut allergy has doubled int he past ten years to one in 70, while between 5 and 8 percent of children develop a food allergy by the age of 3. Many experts believe the current advice to parents to keep peanuts away from their babies may be aggravating the probelm. In Africa, Asia and China, where peanuts are a staple food and routinely given to young children, rates, of peanut allergy are lower than they are in the West. Other resarch suggests the opposite - that early exposure makes an individual more susceptible.

Researchers at king's College London are to embark on a £5million study to test which approach is the more effective. Parents of babies aged 4 to 11 months who have had egg allergy or eczema diagnosed are being asked to volunteer. Although studies have shown that a quarter of these infants will develop a peanut allergy, Professor Gideon Lack who is leading the research, says that they will be at no greater risk and have an improved chance of avoiding it.

The 480 children in the study will be separated into two groups. One will receive snacks containing six grams of peanuts a week for three years. The other group will be given a peanut-free diet. Both groups will be assessed when the children are aged 5.