Evidence is mounting that oral immunotherapy can help many children shake off food allergies.

Children benefited from being fed small amounts of food allergens to desensitize them, according to a pair of studies presented over the weekend at a meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology in Orlando, Florida.

In the first study, 74 children 12 and younger received oral immunotherapy between 2020 and 2022, targeting food allergens like peanut, tree nuts, sesame, egg and milk.

Results showed that 64% of children were able to freely eat the allergen after their therapy, and nearly 90% of parents said they had less anxiety and better confidence around meals.

“In our study, Quality of Life scores got better in 88% of patients, indicating oral immunotherapy can transform daily life for young patients and their families,” said lead researcher Dr. Lamya Jaigirdar, a medical resident at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.

“The burden of food allergy goes beyond physical health — it affects mental well-being and can involve social engagement,” she added in a news release. “Seeing such clear improvements is encouraging for the whole family.”

The second study pushed the boundaries of oral immunotherapy by treating two high-risk infants with peanut allergy.

The babies — 6 and 10 months old — were started on a therapy dose of raw peanuts. Once tolerance was built, they were fed roasted peanuts.

At a three-year follow-up, both children could eat any form of peanut without having an allergic reaction, researchers reported.

“To our knowledge, this is the first reported success of peanut allergy reversal in infancy,” researcher Dr. Rachel Kado, co-director of Henry Ford Hospital’s Food Allergy Clinic in Detroit, said in a news release.

“We know that early introduction of peanut reduces allergy risk, but there are no protocols for treating confirmed peanut allergy in infancy,” Kado said. “The raw-then-roasted peanut protocol offers a promising new approach and should be considered in early immunotherapy strategies for high-risk allergic infants.”

Findings presented at a medical meeting should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.