(ANSA) - ROME, 08 FEB - In the future, a new immunotherapy will help to defeat cat allergy.
To say it is a study by the Luxembourg Institute of Health which, in an article published in Allergy, the official journal of EAACI, the European Academy of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, highlighted the potential for high doses of a specific molecule (the oligonucleotide Cpg), in successfully modulating the allergic response of the immune system to the main allergen of the cat (Fel D1), thus inducing a reaction to promote tolerance and canceling the main hallmarks of allergy to cats.
Researchers have analyzed (for now in guinea pigs) the molecular mechanisms underlying this tolerance and proposed a pre-clinical immunotherapy approach to improve the treatment and control of this common type of allergy.
Allergy to cats is characterized by hypersensitivity and an excessive immune response to certain allergens associated with felines, in particular FelD1, a protein that is typically found in their saliva, glands, skin and fur.
Manifestations of cat allergy can range from mild symptoms to the development of severe conditions such as rhinitis and asthma, with potentially fatal outcomes.
Pharmacotherapy is an option for milder forms but, the researchers explain, specific allergen immunotherapy can ensure effective and longer-lasting treatment in more advanced cases.
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