New ultra-sensitive test for peanut allergies demonstrates benefits

An advanced new peanut allergy testing system has been developed by researchers at the University of Connecticut that offers significant benefits over current options.

Based on initial results, the test has been shown to be many times more sensitive than established procedures and is capable of determining the potential intensity of a patient's allergic reaction through just a few drops of blood.

It works by measuring the presence of antibodies that bind to specific protein fragments called peptides and carbohydrate residues found in peanuts, while screening out other biomolecules.

As such, the researchers now wish to use the test to learn more about how specific protein and carbohydrate epitopes bind to antibodies, giving them a better understanding of how allergies are induced.

University of Connecticut professor James Rusling said: "Our hope is that this could be used as an analytical tool to investigate the actual biology of the allergic response to peanuts and other food items in general."

Peanut allergies affect up to one in 50 school age children in the UK, with the occurrence of the condition more than doubling in the last ten years.