Cruel and Unusual Geography

When I wrote about the recent peanut desensitisation trials in the UK I said

This is the first real breakthrough in the search for a cure for food allergies.

I should clarify that.

There is no cure. At the moment there is no sign of a cure. What the British trial demonstrated is that it is possible to raise the threshold of sensitivity — where a child had previously reacted to a very small dose of the allergen, they could now tolerate a lot more before a reaction was triggered. However, the allergy remains. If they eat enough of the stuff they can still have an anaphylactic reaction.

What the desensitisation treatment does is remove the worry of what can happen through accidental exposure, and that’s an excellent thing.

Previously considered too risky, a peanut allergy desensitisation programme has been successfully trialled in the UK.

Desensitisation — a process where the patient is injected with increasingly large doses of the substance they are allergic to — is often used to treat allergies such as bee stings and hayfever. No trial for peanut allergies has ever been successful, though, because of the high risk of a catastrophic (and potentially fatal) anaphylactic reaction when the substance is injected.

In this case, the doctors put down their syringes and gave the desensitisation treatment orally — the children ate very small amounts of peanut. After a course of treatment where the amount of peanut given was slowly increased over time, children who previously had anaphylactic reactions to very small amounts of peanut could safely consume several peanuts at once. One child who had an anaphylactic reaction while being assessed at the start of the study was able to eat 10 peanuts by the end.

This was an initial trial with only four children participating (there’s a larger trial under way), but the results give hope to all of us who in one way or another are living with the risk of anaphylaxis always at the back of our minds. This is the first real breakthrough in the search for a cure for food allergies.

Needless to say, this is not something you should try at home.

Background

Food allergy is an increasingly common issue, due in part to greater publicity but also to an increasing incidence of reactions. Sufferers must strictly avoid all contact with the food to which they are allergic. In many cases this is very difficult, and special allergen-free food must be purchased.

In severe cases sufferers carry adrenaline auto-injectors (“Epi-pens”) with which they can inject themselves should a severe reaction occur. While relatively easy to use, these are expensive and have a short shelf life.

Support organisations are staffed by people with experience and knowledge of food allergies and are a good source of information and resources.

From imafoodblog.com, a great (and simple!) recipe for a plain bread loaf that doesn’t need kneading.

No-knead bread cooling on the rack

Mmmmmm. Now I need a good heavy dutch oven!

I’m terribly terribly happy that I’m now causing significantly more damage to the planet than I was last week. It’s not the damage I’m happy about, it’s the reason.

My Landrover is back.

It’s been sitting up the driveway for nigh on a year, waiting for the mysterious electrical issues to resolve themselves. Finally a friend got herself an auto electrician for a fiancée, and one quick rewiring later she’s starting first time. The Landrover of course, not the friend.

All that was left was to take it to a good mechanic where they undid the damage done to the transmission and brakes by the cowboys who had worked on it previously.

I’m not sure that SWMBO is terribly happy it’s still around, but me and the kids are pleased as punch.