Early results from the NIAID-supported Learning Early About Peanut Allergy (LEAP) study show that severe eczema and egg allergy strongly predict risk for peanut allergy. These results may help identify infants who could most benefit from strategies aimed at preventing peanut allergy.
The LEAP study, led by investigators in the United Kingdom, seeks to determine if introducing peanuts early in a child’s diet could prevent future peanut allergy. Investigators will follow participants until they reach 5 years of age to see if peanut consumption from a very early age prevents the onset of peanut allergy.
The study screened 834 infants aged 4 to 10 months old and enrolled 640 infants who were thought to be at risk for developing peanut allergy, but had not yet developed symptoms. Results from the initial screening of the participants appear in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
George Du Toit, MBBCh, FRCPCH; Graham Roberts, MD; Peter H. Sayre, MD, PhD; Marshall Plaut, MD; Henry T. Bahnson, MPH; Herman Mitchell, PhD; Suzana Radulovic, MD; Susan Chan, MD; Adam Fox, MD; Victor Turcanu, MD; Gideon Lack, MD, FRCPCH; Learning Early About Peanut Allergy (LEAP) Study Team
Affiliations: University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom. These authors contributed equally to this work.
