A Promising New Treatment for Peanut Allergies

BBC reports that one available oral treatment for peanut allergiesseems to be effective for four years — an unprecedented advancement.

More: New Peanut Allergy Guidelines Are Pretty Much the Opposite of What We Knew to Be True

In an Australian study, children were administered a probiotic containing peanut protein daily for a course of 18 months. When tested a month later, a whopping 80 percent of these kids could handle peanuts without any symptoms. And when they were tested four years after the first administration of the probiotic? A full 70 percent were still able to consume peanuts without any ill effects.

As many parents are aware, peanut allergy is one of the most life-threatening food allergies on the planet.

More: “Please Don’t Kill My Kid,” Says One Food Allergy Mom

According to the researchers of this study, more than 250 million people worldwide are affected by various food allergies, and that number has — alarmingly — tripled over the past 20 years.

The lead researcher of the study, Professor Mimi Tang of Murdoch Childrens Research Institute in Melbourne, Australia, said, “The importance of this finding is that these children were able to eat peanuts like children who don’t have peanut allergy and still maintain their tolerant state, protected against reactions to peanuts.”

According to Tang, this is the very first time a peanut allergy treatment has appeared to be effective for such a long period of time.

The research findings were published in . Tang said the study suggests “the exciting possibility that tolerance is a realistic target for treating food allergy.”

More: Lake Bell Reveals Newborn Son’s Name

“This is a major step forward in identifying an effective treatment to address the food allergy problem in Western societies,” Tang added.