The Cambridge team found that, by giving sufferers small daily doses of peanut and increasing the dosage over a period of 26 weeks, 84 per cent of one group and 91 per cent of another group could safely eat five peanuts a day – up to 25 times more than what they would usually be able to tolerate.
Published in The Lancet medical journal, the discovery has been heralded as “ a major step forward”. Peanut allergy is the most common cause of fatal food allergy reactions, and unlike other allergies, often persists into adulthood.
Experts say that further trials will need to take place before the therapy could be available to the public, which could take up to seven years. But doctors warn against any ‘at home’ attempts to greaten peanut tolerances.