Potential therapies for peanut allergy

Abstract

Objective: To review the investigated therapies for peanut allergy beyond avoidance measures and self-injectable epinephrine.

Data sources: A PubMed search was performed using the Keywords peanut allergy and therapy. Additional citations were generated by surveying the reference lists of the pulled articles

Study selection: More than 120 articles were reviewed and references were selected based on their relevance to the subject matter.

Results: Peanut allergy affects more than 1% of the US population and is increasing in prevalence. During the past 15 years multiple therapies have been researched and many have provided promising results. Sustained oral tolerance over desensitization is the goal, and most therapies are unable to demonstrate this because they are currently in their relative infancy. Therapeutic options should be safe, easily administered, and relatively inexpensive. To minimize risk, many therapies will require investigation of combined modalities.

Conclusions: Peanut allergy is a challenging diagnosis for physicians because few treatment options are available. However, it seems plausible that new offerings may become accepted therapy within the next decade. The ability of a patient to tolerate amounts of peanut in an unintentional ingestion without experiencing anaphylaxis would offer peace of mind to patients and families living with peanut allergy.