Edward Chen in Nature:
Six people who were highly allergic to peanuts can tolerate the nut after receiving a faecal transplant, reports a study published on 5 August in Science Translational Medicine. The small trial1 of 15 people is the first evidence that faecal transplants — the transfer of gut bacteria harvested from the stool samples of healthy donors — can treat a food allergy. “Up until now, it’s been in mouse models. Now we have people. And that’s exciting,” says Cathryn Nagler, an immunology researcher at the University of Chicago in Illinois.
Before taking part in the study, participants could not eat more than 100 milligrams of peanut protein, which is found in less than half a peanut, without developing an immune reaction. Four months after the transplant, one person could consume 300 milligrams of peanut protein and five people could eat 600 milligrams or more, the equivalent of about two and a half peanuts. “Seeing any kind of efficacy in people” is remarkable, adds Nagler.
More here.
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