Peanut allergy cured in majority of children in immunotherapy trial • Hacker News Board

Re: Peanut allergy cured in majority of children in immunotherapy trial

#121

Post by jerf » Thu, Aug 17, 2017, 5:15 PM UTC

nibstwo wrote: post #89

S_A_P wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for this- it sounds like I need to do some more research to completely understand whats going on, but this is very helpful. If you dont mind my asking, are your symptoms mostly GI related? Ive heard others can have symptoms that manifest in things like sinuses getting plugged up or skin rashes. Also sounds like a drug similar to Humara may be something that could provide at least some relief to the immune resp…

No. Mine were mostly cognitive. I mean, when I was a kid I had no tooth enamel (had to have surgery to install fake teeth) and puked up everything I ate that had wheat in it, but somehow no one diagnosed it until later. I just assumed it was normal but my symptoms were migraines, anxiety, stomach bloating, joint pain, hair loss, stunted growth, constant fatigue, sleep apnea, nutrient deficiencies, malabsorption. It t…

"I shudder to consider eating a full bun or something but I haven't tried in years."

I have it nowhere near as bad as you (which is why it went undiagnosed until I was 30... although it's still pretty bad). But for about 5 years after I found out I would have recurring dreams where I would be eating a hamburger and realize after swallowing "Oh, crap, that's a normal bun!" I suppose in some sense that might qualify as a nightmare the first couple of times, because it would fully wake me up.

Re: Peanut allergy cured in majority of children in immunotherapy trial

#122

Post by dragonwriter » Thu, Aug 17, 2017, 5:23 PM UTC

upvotinglurker wrote: post #108

VeejayRampay wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah, so yogurt REALLY is a Bulgarian thing! In France, we've always had a slew of "Bulgarian taste" yogurts, which are usually slightly acidic in taste (and which I enjoy a lot) and I've always wondered if it was just a marketing thing or grounded in reality.

>In France, we've always had a slew of "Bulgarian taste" yogurts, which are usually slightly acidic in taste In the US, I think this is being marketed as "Greek yogurt." (I don't like yogurt so no first hand experience, but in the last few years I've noticed many brands being advertised as "Greek", and as being more tangy and possibly more healthy/"natural")

“Greek yogurt” is the same thing as “yogurt cheese”—it's yogurt strained to remove/reduce whey. Well, except that US rules allow thickeners to be used instead of straining, so many US versions are thickened, rather than strained.

I don't think either process affects acidity.

Re: Peanut allergy cured in majority of children in immunotherapy trial

#123

Post by 6d6b73 » Thu, Aug 17, 2017, 5:40 PM UTC

ljf wrote: post #37

manmal wrote: post #18

Can we derive that Lactobacillus rhamnosus could reduce all kinds of allergies when taken, even without adding proteins that you are allergic to?

We really don't know - but I really think there is a link between gut bacteria and allergies, based on some of the reading I've done, though it's all very early days for research in this area. Our boy has allergies and we've been giving him Water Kefir daily for the last year (we would give Milk Kefir, but he's currently allergic to dairy too :( His allergies developed after a dose of antibiotics - which likely would…

Suggestion based on my N=1. If your son has any seasonal allergies, try giving him tiny amounts (1/4 of a teaspoon) of raw local honey every single day.

Re: Peanut allergy cured in majority of children in immunotherapy trial

#124

Post by gehwartzen » Thu, Aug 17, 2017, 5:41 PM UTC

rhexs wrote: post #76

dperfect wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is especially confusing to me given the fact that immunotherapy (allergy shots) for hay fever has been used effectively since at least the 1930s[1]. I've heard that it may be due to the severity of a possible reaction to peanuts compared to that of (most cases of) hay fever, but I'm guessing that's probably not the full story. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allergen_immunotherapy

That's where my uncertainty comes from. I did the allergy immunotherapy for a few years, asked the Doc if they did anything like that for food allergies, and got the no, it doesn't work answer.

The reason is actually answered in the paper ;) There have been many studies looking at introducing peanut allergens in small increasing doses over time. this does somewhat work but the effects ware off pretty quickly after stopping. The 'secret sauce' in this study is the use of the specific bacteria which somehow teaches the body to retain the non-immune response.

Re: Peanut allergy cured in majority of children in immunotherapy trial

#125

Post by nucleardog » Thu, Aug 17, 2017, 5:43 PM UTC

cst wrote: post #74

48 children were enrolled in the trial. Half of them were given the treatment and half the placebo, leaving 24 children in each group. Statistical significance testing is reported in the article and seems fairly robust, but this is too small a sample size to be fully confident in the results.

Of 24 children treated, apparently 20 of them were successfully treated.

The control group only saw one person's allergy diminish during the initial treatment period.

I'll freely admit I don't have a background in statistics or clinical trial design, but it seems to me with that significant of an effect you can be fairly confident in the results even at that trial size.

If we were talking 8% to 4% in 24-person groups, sure, one extra person having a positive result could be random chance. We're talking 82% to 4%. It seems pretty unlikely that 19 people all randomly has a positive result unrelated to the treatment.

How big do you think these trial groups need to be to confirm the effect of the treatment, if this isn't good enough?

Re: Peanut allergy cured in majority of children in immunotherapy trial

#126

Post by nradov » Thu, Aug 17, 2017, 5:44 PM UTC

js2 wrote: post #41

sethammons wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Several years ago, I developed a bad allergic reaction to mango. Hyper sensitive skin that will rash and welt with the slightest irritation, such as sitting in a car and wearing a seat belt. This will last for over a month. I carry an EpiPen in case my throat swells shut. I know allergies can come and go, so I may no longer be allergic, but I dare not find out.

Mango skin has a similar allergen as that in poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac. My sister cannot touch the skin w/o getting a rash. However, if it's already peeled she can eat it w/o issue. I understand this is not uncommon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mango#Potential_for_contact_de...

Interesting. I'm extremely sensitive to urushiol but mango skin doesn't affect me.

Re: Peanut allergy cured in majority of children in immunotherapy trial

#127

Post by gehwartzen » Thu, Aug 17, 2017, 5:47 PM UTC

jwineinger wrote: post #28

I'm a parent of a 4-year old with a peanut allergy. We've been told that anywhere from 18-25% of kids with it "outgrow" the allergy by age 5. I've been looking into private practice oral immunotherapy (OIT) recently, which this protocol seems to be a variant of (adding the bacteria). My understanding is that you start with a low dose and then gradually increase over months until you're eating whole peanuts (4-12 of t…

You may also want to pair it with the actual bacteria (probiotic) used in this study: Lactobacillus rhamnosus. Its available as a supplement.

Re: Peanut allergy cured in majority of children in immunotherapy trial

#128

Post by nradov » Thu, Aug 17, 2017, 5:49 PM UTC

YCode wrote: post #110

MichaelRenor wrote: post #105

What's amazing to me is that they used to recommend you don't give children any peanuts until a specific age, but then they learned that easily exposure actually dramatically decreases the chance of developing an allergy. I feel like I have to throw away almost all advice they give us about kids these days. These types of things do a lot to undermine the advice of doctors.

Not just these days... Not long ago breast milk was considered distasteful/inferior to formula and newborns were forced on their stomachs so they didn't choke to death on their own tongues/vomit. The latter by the way led to a dramatic increase in incidents of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome causing us to roll out the "back to sleep" movement. Many still disapprove of sleeping next to your baby despite it being as safe…

Yes there have been some bad errors by the medical and public health communities. But on the other hand, now we have parents who don't vaccinate because they "feel" it's better for their child. Most peoples' feelings aren't to be trusted.

Re: Peanut allergy cured in majority of children in immunotherapy trial

#129

Post by adrr » Thu, Aug 17, 2017, 6:08 PM UTC

ccleve wrote: post #103

giarc wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We've created this fear in parents that they must keep peanuts away from their child. My colleague wouldn't bring peanuts into the house with her first child and by age 3 her son still hadn't eaten peanut butter or any other peanut products. She wanted to introduce peanut butter to him and went as far as bringing him to the Children's Hospital emergency department and gave him a tiny amount of peanut butter while sit…

Instead of feeding our baby peanut butter, I smeared a small amount on his arm first. The skin got red and bubbled up. We took him in, got him tested, and found that he had the allergy. Thank God I didn't feed it to him.

Curious if you hand wash or use a dishwasher for the baby bottles? There's a hygiene hypothesis to explain why allergies are more prevalent in 1st world countries.

Re: Peanut allergy cured in majority of children in immunotherapy trial

#130

Post by matwood » Thu, Aug 17, 2017, 6:09 PM UTC

dsfyu404ed wrote: post #43

matwood wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure what the fuss is about lobster, but I would hate to give up crab and oysters. I love standing around a fire in the winter shucking and eating oysters.

Lobster is like crab but better and with a much better time spent cracking shells to time spent eating food ratio. If you've eaten lobster crab just feels like a waste of time and effort (but it's less messy so it lends itself better to being eaten in a restaurant).

I've eaten tons (possibly literally ;) ) of both, and the body meat of blue crab is much better than any lobster I've ever had. I'm not saying lobster is bad, but it's possibly overrated.

At the end of the day, I would take oysters over both because I prefer salty to sweet. A fresh local oyster from the water that morning either raw or lightly steamed is delicious.