Viaskin Patch in Clinical Trials to Heal Peanut Allergies

In recent years, there has been an uptake in food allergies. More specifically, the number of people with food allergies in the United States has doubled in one decade. Currently, about six million children in the United States have an identified food allergy which is about two kids in every classroom.

It may seem that allergies merely pose food restrictions. However, children with allergies face struggles that other kids don't. They have to constantly pay attention to what they're eating. A simple school day or birthday party can become an emergency room visit if a family's guard slips. This constant caution has been shown to increase predispositions of anxiety in both a child and the child's parents. Additionally, young children with allergies often feel isolated since they tend to be separated in cafeterias and classrooms.

No Peanuts Allowed Image.

There is no cure for food allergies that are available to children yet. However, a recent phase three clinical trial has set out to change that. The trial, which has been set up in many hospitals across the country, involves the testing of experimental patches that are placed between the shoulder blades of toddlers who are allergic to peanuts. The patch, named Viaskin, was created by DBV Technologies and aims to treat allergies through direct contact with the skin.

Coated with a small amount of peanut protein, the patch is to be worn daily so that the toddler can absorb the proteins through their skin. The hope is that the patches will help toddlers build up their tolerance to allergens such as peanuts. However, it is important to note that the patch is yet to be approved by the FDA and is only being used for clinical testing purposes.

In a recent study, 362 toddlers with peanut allergies were randomly given a Viaskin patch or a lookalike dummy patch every day for a year. By the end of the year, researchers found that within the children, around 67% could safely ingest three to four peanuts.

Some toddlers also accidentally ate peanut-containing foods during the study, and researchers said allergic reactions were less frequent among the Viaskin users than those wearing the dummy patches. The most common side effect was skin irritation at the patch site for toddlers with the Viaskin patch. For toddlers with the dummy patch, the recorded reactions included difficulty breathing and the closing of the airway.

The study shows that through these patches, toddlers can gain immunity to their allergy, and while they build immunity, any potential allergic reactions will be less severe and life-threatening.

The next step for the Viaskin patch is to test its effectiveness in older children and adults. This will be a critical step since many people develop allergies later in life as opposed to being born with them. Additionally, the patch should be tested with allergens aside from peanuts. Although the treatment is far from perfect, the patch is good news for families with allergic children and shows promise to help children with both the physical and emotional effects of having food allergies.