Scientists said that a gene defect has been identified causing children to develop peanut allergy.
The gene called Filaggrin was shown to be a responsible factor that can cause eczema and asthma. About 1-2 % of UK children are affected by the life-threatening peanut allergy.
For over two or 3 decades, conditions regarding the number of affected people dramatically increased. This report was according to the Dundee University which led an international research team. But the cause of allergy from such situation has not yet been known.
Another member from Dundee University, Dr. Sara Brown, said that an investigation if Filaggrin could lead to peanut allergy is a “logical next step” after it has established a link with eczema and asthma.
Dr. Brown has said that allergic conditions often run in families, which tells that inherited genetic factors are important.
Changes that happen in our environment as well as exposure to peanuts are what they think to be the reason of peanut allergy increase especially those from the Western World.
A quoted statement from the scientists’ findings says, “Now, for the first time, we have a genetic change that can be firmly linked to peanut allergy.” Such findings have been published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
The said scientists were from Canada, the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands.
Discovered through a research was the fact that the gene called Filaggrin acts as the skin’s barrier against irritants and allergies.
However, when the changes in the said gene occur, the effectiveness of being a barrier decreases. As a result, a great possibility that substance will enter into the body and eventually lead to allergy.
A suggestion from the study was then formulated that those who suffer from peanut allergy have a Filaggrin defect. This means that people who have such gene defect will have three or more times possibility to have peanut allergy than those who have normal Filaggrin genes.
“We knew that people with Filaggrin defect were likely to suffer from eczema, and that many of those people also had peanut allergy,” says Professor Irwin McLean who is also based at Dundee University.
“What we have now shown is that the Filaggrin defect is there for people who have peanut allergy but who didn’t have eczema, which shows a clear link between Filaggrin and peanut allergy,” Professor McLean added.
According to him, the Filaggrin defect was not the only cause of peanut allergy but had been established as a factor in many cases. He also says that Filaggrin defects have only been found in a percentage of 20 among the peanut allergy cases.
With that, further studies are yet to be done to acquire a total understanding in connection to the said research.