Genetic defect linked to peanut allergy

DUNDEE, Scotland, March 11 (UPI) -- A genetic defect capable of tripling the risk of a child developing an allergy to peanuts has been identified, U.K. scientists say.

Researchers led by scientists at the University of Dundee in Scotland said the gene in question has already been found to be a factor in causing eczema and asthma, the BBC reported Friday.

The particular gene helps make skin a good barrier against irritants and allergens, but a defect in it can decrease the action of this barrier, allowing substances to invade the body and cause a range of allergic conditions.

Peanut allergy, which can be life threatening, affects between 1 and 2 percent of children in the United Kingdom.

Investigating whether the gene defect was a cause of peanut allergy was the "logical next step" after the link with eczema and asthma had been established, Dundee researcher Sara Brown said.

"Allergic conditions often run in families, which tells us that inherited genetic factors are important," she said.

The findings from cooperative research by scientists from Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Netherlands have been published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.