Combination treatment shows promise for children with egg and milk allergies

Published

Monday, October 20, 2025 - 12:00 PM

Combining oral immunotherapy (OIT) with probiotics could help some children overcome egg and milk allergies, with more than 50 per cent of participants in a Melbourne-based pilot study achieving remission.

The PREMO Study, led by Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI) and National Allergy Centre of Excellence (NACE) food allergy experts, tested a high-dose, rapid-escalation treatment approach in 40 children aged between five to 17 at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne.

Participants received gradually increasing doses of either egg or milk over 18 months, alongside a probiotic supplement. After completing treatment, they avoided the allergen for eight weeks before undergoing a food challenge to test for “sustained unresponsiveness” or remission – the ability to safely eat the food even after stopping treatment.

The results published in Pediatric Allergy & Immunology showed:

• 55 per cent of children with egg allergyand 50 per cent with milk allergy achieved sustained unresponsiveness
• 85 per cent of participantsreached the maintenance phase of treatment, though some needed adjusted dosing
• Moderate or severe side effectswere common, affecting 45 per cent of egg-allergic and 65 per cent of milk-allergic participants
• Despite side effects, families reportedsignificant improvements in quality of life.

Food allergies affect about one in 10 Australian children, with egg and milk among the most common.

“This study offers hope for broader treatment options for older children with food allergies other than peanut,” Dr Adriana Chebar Lozinsky, Principal Investigator, said. “While the results are promising, a larger, placebo-controlled randomised trial is needed to confirm the treatment’s safety and effectiveness.”

Co-author Dr Melanie Lloyd, NACE Postdoctoral Fellow, said: “If successful, this approach could lead to faster, more effective therapies for children living with egg and milk allergies”.

The same research team, led by Professor Mimi Tang at MCRI, previously showed a combined therapy consisting of probiotic and peanut oral immunotherapy (PPOIT), or peanut OIT alone, equally helped children with peanut allergy achieve remission.

Visit the NACE Publications Directory for more food allergy research papers.