Cow’s milk protein allergy’s days may be numbered, thanks to DBV-Technologies!

The DBV Technologies website offers a fascinating insight into a cutting edge company which is set to offer real hope to the parents of the millions of babies and young children who are affected by milk allergy.

Source: http://www.dbv-technologies.com

Allergic reactions to cow’s milk take many shapes, but can include vomiting, skin rashes, diarrhoea and of course, anaphylactic shock. What makes this issue even more pressing is its prevalence – up to 2 to 3% of individuals exhibit this allergy in varying degrees. The Viaskin milk patch is a new way of diagnosing and treating CMPA which avoids the need for injections (painful for children and distressing for parents) and oral drops (tricky to administer). Instead, this epicutaneous immunotherapy approach involves the spraying of an electrically-charged stream of allergens upon the backing of an adhesive patch, worn on the skin. These allergens turn into liquid form again once in contact with the skin, thus enabling them to penetrate the upper epidermis and reach the Langerhans cells shown in the image below. Once there, the task of ‘tolerizing’ the body to the allergen in question can begin.