Health & Medicine New drug to treat / prevent cat allergy

Second Summer

Second Summer

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Scientists have discovered how allergic reactions to cats are triggered, raising hopes of preventative medicine.

A University of Cambridge team has identified how the body's immune system detects cat allergen, leading to symptoms such as coughing and sneezing.

New treatments to block this pathway raise hopes of developing medicines to protect sufferers, they say.
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Cat allergy research offers new clues (BBC, 25. July 2013)

I thought there were already drugs out there that dealt with the issue, but maybe this is different as they actually understand the mechanism and why it works (or should work), which is not always the case with older drugs I guess.
 
Yeah, the older/current drugs available just treat a broad spectrum of symptoms- they don't address the mechanism of specific allergens.

I've been severely allergic to cats since I was very young, and the only thing that has worked for me is allergy injections.

I wonder if this new info will provide clues to other specific allergic reactions and lead to specialized targeted therapies.
 
I was terribly allergic to cats I was young; my eyes would itch and swell shut and I would have asthma attacks. None of the allergy medicines helped. Over the years I had cats anyway and just suffered, and slowly my symptoms got milder and milder. Now I rarely have a reaction to them. I wonder if being continually exposed to cats caused my immune system to stop reacting to them.
 
I loooooove cats but am so allergic. I wanted to get shots years ago, but when they tested me, the wheal of hive on the site was 4" across and they flipped out and said they'd have to make a special batch so it would be weak enough. Insurance said no. If a cat licks me, I get a hive. I would love it if this pans out. :)
 
ledboots said:
I loooooove cats but am so allergic. I wanted to get shots years ago, but when they tested me, the wheal of hive on the site was 4" across and they flipped out and said they'd have to make a special batch so it would be weak enough. Insurance said no. If a cat licks me, I get a hive. I would love it if this pans out. :)
Click to expand...

I also used to get hives if a cat licked me. Once I got hives on my chin and throat from a cat waving its tail on my face. My eyes would get itchy, red and feel like I had hair stuck on my eyeballs. I would have asthma attacks just from being in the house of someone with cats, and for hours after I felt like my lungs were full of cotton batting.

I found out I was allergic when I was around five. I went with my grandma to one of her friends' houses, who had kittens. I played with them for awhile and must have rubbed my eyes because they swelled shut. One of my earliest memories was crying because I didn't know what was going on, and Grandma having to bring me home.

When I was allergy tested, the top value was 3, and my score for cat allergen was 3+++. I haven't had much in the way of problems since I started getting the injections.

I was always around dogs growing up, and had absolutely no problems with them until I moved away from home for college. Then every time I was around any dog (including the one I had been living with symptom-free), I had pretty bad allergies.


I've heard that many people who are allergic to cats are also allergic to rabbits, but I'm fine around rabbits.
 
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