An oral treatment for peanut allergy is still effective four years after it was administered, a study has found.
Children were given a probiotic, with a peanut protein, daily for 18 months.
When tested one month later, 80% could tolerate peanuts without any allergic symptoms and after four years, 70% of them were still able to eat peanuts without suffering any side-effects.
Food allergies have risen dramatically in recent decades, with peanut allergy one of the most deadly.
Lead researcher Prof Mimi Tang, of Murdoch Childrens Research Institute in Melbourne, said half the children were consuming peanuts regularly while others were only eating them infrequently.
"The importance of this finding is that these children were able to eat peanuts like children who don't have peanut allergy and still maintain their tolerant state, protected against reactions to peanuts," she said.
Prof Tang said it was the first time a treatment for peanut allergy had been shown to be effective for this long.
The probiotic used is called Lactobacillus rhamnosus, which has been associated with preventing certain allergic symptoms.
When is it safe to eat peanuts?
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There is often confusion about when peanuts are safe as the guidelines used to advocate avoidance
If there is no family history of allergies or eczema then health officials say peanut butter and other ground or crushed nuts are OK after six months
If there is a heightened risk then parents should consult a doctor
This research suggests careful introduction of peanut may help such children, but parents should not do this on their own
No child under five should eat a whole nut
The Australian research team now wants to assess whether the treatment has improved the children's quality of life, as some 250 million people worldwide are affected by food allergy - a number which has more than trebled in the last 20 years.
Peanut allergy, which is one of the most common causes of death from food allergy, has increased at the greatest rate.
Prof Tang said the findings, published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health,suggest "the exciting possibility that tolerance is a realistic target for treating food allergy".
She added: "This is a major step forward in identifying an effective treatment to address the food allergy problem in Western societies."
A fun game, " Potpouri" was conducted by Ms Shreya and Ms Andrea( I year MSc).
Six teams with 4 students for each group were given different tasks including DUMB CHARADES.
The activity was able to instill good rapport between first and second year students. Team F and C were declared winners.
10th August 2017
A guest talk by Fr.Christopher Xavier SJ, was arranged on " Active Listening skills and positive thinking.
17th August 2017 Independence Day activity - "India and Independence"
Ms.Viunutha ( II Year MSc) ,Ms Pooja and Ms Soumya( I year students) Conducted the program.
Singing of patriotic songs by Ms Srijal was followed by activities like crossword puzzle, pinning "Ashoka Chakra" and "guess the slogan". Finally the program ended after viewing a small video depicting Indian struggle for independence.
31 August 2017
First year students exhibited their talents as a team with various activities including humor , singing, role play and dances. The high light of the show were Mr Shithil Suvarna and with his humorous compering the whole show and Ms Shreya Shetty with her singing.
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