Hope for cat-allergy sufferers

Shape, Oct, 2005 by Judi Ketteler

A newly created molecule could bring relief not only to millions of cat-allergy sufferers, but also to people with deadly food allergies, researchers report in Nature Medicine. By fusing cat and human proteins, scientists produced a compound that overrides the allergic reaction to cats in both mice and human cells. The approach also may work against more dangerous allergies, researchers say.

Building up a tolerance to cats via current allergy shots can take three to five years, and at least 10 percent of people experience serious reactions. Shots of the new molecule would likely be safer and offer relief in just months, but are still a few years away.