Canadian researchers at the University of British Columbia have pinpointed a new gene associated with peanut allergy. Having found this new gene, researchers have opened the door to future studies and new treatment options.
Peanut allergy develops in children and is rarely outgrown. Roughly one percent of Canadian adults and between two percent and three percent of Canadian children are affected. The symptoms include, a runny nose, tightening in the throat, wheezing, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and stomach cramps. In severe cases, a peanut allergy can lead to death.
For the study, the Canadian researchers scanned more than 7.5 million genetic locations in the DNA of 850 people with peanut allergy and nearly 1,000 people without it to search for markers that might be linked to food allergy. They recruited the peanut allergy participants from the Canadian Peanut Allergy Registry.
The University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Medicine originally published this story.