Peanut allergy treatment with probiotics BY SOPHIE SCOTT AND JAMES OATEN

A novel treatment which can help children overcome peanut allergies can provide relief from reactions for up to four years, Australian researchers say.

Key points:

• Children given peanut protein treatment still allergy free four years later
• Findings suggest treatment can be long-lasting
• Plans to turn the treatment into a product

Professor Mimi Tang, from the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, developed a treatment where kids with peanut allergies were given a probiotic called lactobacillus rhamnosus, with a peanut protein, once a day for 18 months.They found one month after stopping treatment, more than 80 per cent of children who received the protein and probiotic could tolerate peanuts without any allergic symptoms at the end of the trial.The same children were then tested four years later."The idea behind the treatment is that the #probiotic changes how the body's #immune system responds to an #allergen, in this case peanuts."The probiotic acts on the immune system, encourages the immune system to generate a protective, or #tolerance, response rather than allergy," Professor Tang said."http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-17/new-peanut-allergy-treatment-longlasting-study-says/8814264?pfmredir=sm