While there’s really no such thing as a ‘cure’ for allergies, researchers at UCLA may have created a compound that can stop the symptoms of cat allergies dead in their tracks. GFD, “gamma Feline domesticus,” severely retards the histamine reaction that causes such symptoms as runny eyes, sneezing, and itching. The researchers also stated that this potential godsend for those allergic to cats may result in further treatments for more serious problems like peanut allergies. ABC News reports:
The compound [was] tested in mice bred to be allergic to cats… “This novel approach to treating cat allergies is encouraging news for millions of cat-allergic Americans. Moreover, these results provide proof-of-concept for using this approach to develop therapies to prevent deadly food allergy reactions as well,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which paid for the study.
Allergies are caused when the immune system mistakenly reacts to allergens — pieces of protein found in food, on animals or produced by plants. One response is the production of histamine, which brings on allergy symptoms such as sneezing, wheezing, itching, watery eyes and sometimes asthma.
The compound stops this process. It uses pieces of an allergy-provoking protein found in cat saliva or dander called Fel d1, tied to a piece of human antibody called IgG Fcg1. The cat allergen part attaches to antibodies on the surface of the immune system cells that produce histamine, while the human bit stops the cell from getting started.
