HomeResearch – September 2017

Research – September 2017

September 15, 2017

Learn more about the latest in peanut research, including a study on eating peanut while breastfeeding, Dr. Gordon Sussman’s clinical study with the Viaskin® Peanut patch, and a review from Canadian allergists/immunologists on the Australian oral immunotherapy study on peanut allergy. You can also read the response from allergists on the death of a 3-year-old boy during a baked milk challenge.


New study on eating peanut while breastfeeding

A new study led by researchers at the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba and the University of Manitoba suggests that infants whose mothers ate peanut while breastfeeding, and who are introduced to peanut by 12 months, may have a lower risk of developing a peanut allergy later in childhood.

Read more.


Canadian allergists/immunologists comment on recent Australian oral immunotherapy study on peanut allergy.

AllerGen investigators Drs Manel Jordana and Susan Waserman and AllerGen HQP Dr. Derek Chu have prepared a statement in response to a recent Australian study being heralded as a “breakthrough” and a “cure” for peanut allergy.

Read their statement.


Allergy desensitization therapy: Dr. Gordon Sussman and Viaskin® Peanut

People with peanut allergies may have a new treatment option to help reduce the risk of exposure in the coming years, according to the results of a series of clinical trials.

Example of Viaskin patch. Source: DBV Technologies

Viaskin® Peanut is a new form of allergy desensitization therapy pioneered by the French pharmaceutical firm DBV Technologies. It comes in the form of a patch worn by patients on the surface of the skin 24 hours a day during a desensitization period (that is, a time during which the immune system is trained to lessen its reaction to peanut) of 3 years.  In a series of multicentre clinical studies, conducted in part by a team of researchers at Gordon Sussman Clinical Research Inc. of Toronto, research has demonstrated that about 50 percent of children between the ages of 4 and 11 experienced a ten-fold reduction of their sensitivity to peanut.

Read more.


Allergists respond to death of 3-year-old boy during oral food challenge

Our deepest sympathy goes out to the family of Alastair Watson from the US. He tragically passed away on July 30th at the age of 3 after a severe reaction during a baked milk challenge.

Please read this important joint statement regarding oral food challenges from the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, and the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.