If you are an allergy sufferer, there’s some good news coming your way. Researchers are testing a new way to treat people with allergies. They are including a lab-made molecule in allergy shots that block substances in the body that cause allergic reactions. Studies show it to be particularly effective for people with cat allergies.
When a person breathes in high amounts of an allergen, such as pollen, pet dander, or dust mites, they develop allergic rhinitis. This results in symptoms such as a stuffy nose, sneezing, watery eyes, and so on. They occur when the body defends itself against substances that are harmless to most people.
Allergy shots expose people to high substances of allergens. They help the body get used to allergens so they don’t have as strong of a reaction when they interact with them.
But allergy shots don’t work for everyone. And they must be administered for three years to produce results.
The new therapy aims to provide improved results in a shorter amount of time. The NIH-funded study used to test it involved 121 adults with cat allergies. Some participants received allergy shots alone while others received a combination treatment of allergy shots along with the newly developed shot.
After a year of treatment, both groups improved. But those who were given the combination treatment had a better response to cat proteins as compared to those who got just one shot.
What’s more, the effects from the standard allergy shots started wearing off within one year after the treatment stopped while the combination treatment continued to work.
Researchers are continuing to study the treatment. They plan to test it to determine if it will work to reduce food allergy symptoms.