For those people who love cats but are allergic, there may be an easier way to keep their furry friends. Scientists at McMaster University claim to working on a vaccine that would help treat cat allergies. 10% of our population is allergic to cats and there are only two ways for them to keep the cat. One is to take daily doeses of antihistamines. The other option is one that involves health risk and a large cost which they get given allergy shots. An immunolgist by the name of Mark Larche may have the vaccine to get rid of this problem. This vaccine has been worked on for a decade now.Traditional vaccines are used by taking a shot that consist of protien. Larche's vaccine is the protein that is in a cat's dander that causes the majority of allergic reactions. His team has narrowed down the proteins to target the cause of allergic reaction. With 4-8 doeses a year, Larche believes that a person can eliminate their allergies or at least not have them for a long period of time. The vaccine is taking with a needle. The plus side of it all is that the vaccine has minimal side affects. 300 patients were tested on and they determined the vaccine was safe and very tolerable by patients.
This vaccine could be one that makes life a lot easier for a lot of people. Personally I have had friends who cant have a sleepover because they are too allergic to my cat. With having this vaccine, people who have a love for cats will no longer have to get rid of them because they are allergic. It will serve a great purpose and we will most likely lower the amount of cats that go without a home and are stuck at the OSPCA. If all works out with the vaccine, a lot of credit is owed to Mark Larche and his team at McMaster. 
3 comments:
This title instantly reminded me of these hypoallergenic cats that were released couple years ago. I think they cost $3000 or something along those lines. I did a quick Wikipedia search, and apparently scientists were skeptical about the claim. Several customers were without a cat after payment, and some received cats that they had an allergic reaction to. Whatever their deal is...
The vaccine would be so much easier than trying to take a daily pill; however, I'm concerned about the pricing. I'm positive that it won't be like the "scam" I mentioned above, but not every cat-lover-who-is-allergic could afford it. At the end of the day, would love triumph over all?
I would like to thank Rory for posting this interesting blog. It is neat to see how developments in science can help us in the future. I agree with Rory in the sense that this vaccine could help thousands of people and that researchers involved should definitely be commended if this works out. I also have a personal connection to people with cat allergies and truly hope that the vaccine is able to launched in the near future. Perhaps similar vaccines may be found for other allergies? It is most likely not the case, but perhaps this is the start of numerous medical advances relating to allergies. I would like to thank DG for his comment. The cost of this vaccine is not stated, but I assume that it could become expensive. I hope that this does not become a 'scam' and that the cost is affordable for many people. If not, then we will just have to hope that either allergy-free cats become the norm or science catches up and the price of this vaccine falls drastically!
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