There’s no doubt that cow’s milk protein allergy (CMPA) is a major concern for a lot of parents. This is one of our most common allergies, as it affects anything upwards of 1 in 35 people. It is particularly prevalent in young children and babies. At www.dbv-technologies.com/en you can see what this French research company is doing to fight CMPA, in the shape of an adhesive patch.
The patch can be modified to tackle different allergies. This section on the website, http://www.dbv-technologies.com/en/viaskin-products/viaskin-milk offers an insight into the consequences of CMPA, all of which, it is hoped, can be avoided by the use of the patch. By targeting the Langerhans cells (below), the risk of the treatment triggering anaphylaxis and thus being worse than the cure, are significantly reduced. These cells are amongst the most tolerogenic in the whole human body, so they’re perfect for use in the allergen desensitization process. As the patch concept is quite a simple one, there’s no reason why it can’t be modified to apply to other allergies, and this is indeed the case. Other patches being developed include peanut and hen’s egg patches.