Absinthe & Cookies (a bit bitter, a bit sweet)

New Hope for Cat Allergy Sufferers

Scientists have made a breakthrough in efforts to prevent allergies caused by cats, it emerged today.

They have developed a protein that could block the allergic response – and the technique could be adapted to other situations such as food allergies.

In the research, reported in the April issue of Nature Medicine, they found that mice treated with a newly developed part-cat, part-human protein did not develop an allergic reaction.

Andrew Saxon, of the University of California in Los Angeles, said in today’s Guardian newspaper that the technique could be extended to develop cures for potentially deadly allergies to food such as nuts.

The allergic attacks occur when the immune system mistakes cat or pollen allergens for germs, producing large amounts of an antibody which triggers the release of a chemical called histamine. This causes symptoms such as inflammation, rashes and swelling.

Dr Saxon fused the cat allergen with a human protein that tends to slow down the immune system. The cat part causes the immune system to produce the antibody – but the human part calms the reaction, resetting the immune system.

His cure is still several years – and many clinical trials – away from becoming a mass market treatment, The Guardian noted.

Posted by Ithildin at March 28, 2005 8:22 AM | PROCURE FINE OLD WORLD ABSINTHE