Treating peanut allergy: Does immunotherapy work?

Over the last few years an experimental treatment for peanut allergies has been developed. It is called immunotherapy and it involves giving gradually increasing microdoses of peanut to children with the allergy for around two years, until they become accustomed to it. It uses precisely measured quantities and is not something that can be done without medical supervision.
There have been anecdotal reports of it working well for some children and making a real difference to their lives, but now a review of 12 immunotherapy studies, published in the Lancet, has found the results are less than straightforward. Although it does work for some children, others have ended up having more severe allergic reactions and the existing evidence shows that quality of life was no better in those patients who had the treatment. So what is going on? Lead author of the paper, Dr Derek Chu, is a Fellow in Allergy at McMaster University in Canada.

A Super Happy Story (About Feeling Super Sad) is a musical all about depression. It is a production from the UK-based theatre company Silent Uproar and is currently on tour in the UK. While it was in London, Claudia went along to talk to Alex Mitchell, Director of Uproar and Madeleine MacMahon, who plays the lead role of Sally, a character who is experiencing depression.

(Photo caption: Peanut allergy warning – credit: Getty Images)

Health Check was presented by Claudia Hammond with comments from BBC Health and Science correspondent, James Gallagher.

Producer: Helena Selby