Asthma medications also help with food allergies

Active ingredient omalizumab

February 27, 2024 10:24 p.m. Robert Klatt

Food allergies can be deadly. The asthma drug Xolair, approved for decades, can prevent allergic reactions and thus improve the lives of many people.

Baltimore (United States). The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the injectable medication Xolair for the treatment of allergic asthma more than 20 years ago. A study of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM) now shows that the drug can also inhibit reactions to several food allergies. According to researchers, it could therefore be a drug that could change the lives of many people.

According to the publication in New England Journal of Medicine Robert Wood researchers conducted a study of 180 subjects aged 1 to 55 who had been diagnosed with a peanut allergy and at least two other food allergies. Study participants received injections of either an asthma medication or a placebo for 16 to 20 weeks.

Peanut Tolerance Increases

A majority of patients treated with the active ingredient omalizumab (66.9%) were then able to tolerate 600 milligrams (mg) or more of peanut protein. This is about 2.5 peanuts. In the placebo group, the proportion was significantly lower (6.8%). Omalizumab can also prevent serious allergic reactions in most people to other common food allergens, including milk, eggs, wheat, cashews, walnuts and hazelnuts, according to data from the study.

“The daily lives of food allergy patients are consumed by the fear of accidental exposure to food allergens. Our results have the potential to be very significant and potentially even life-changing for people with food allergies.

Food allergies are common

According to health data, at least eight percent of children and 10 percent of adults in the United States have one or more food allergies. In addition, a large part of the population (86%) is allergic to at least one food. Affected people must constantly pay attention to their diet, because a serious food allergy can be fatal in the worst case.

To date, there are no approved treatments that completely inhibit or prevent allergic reactions. Researchers believe omalizumab could fill this gap by increasing the threshold at which allergic reactions occur. This would significantly improve the quality of life for millions of people with food allergies. In response to the study, the FDA recently approved omalizumab for the treatment of several food allergies.

New England Journal of Medicine, doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2312382