[FEL-L] Asthma Linked to Cat Allergies

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Asthma Linked to Cat Allergies
By _Robin Lloyd_ (mailto:rlloyd at imaginova.com) ,  LiveScience Senior Editor 
posted: 28 September 2007 01:20 pm ET

_http://www.livescience.com/health/070928_allergies_asthma.html_ 
(http://www.livescience.com/health/070928_allergies_asthma.html)  
 
 
 
More than 50 percent of the current asthma cases in the U.S. are the result  
of allergies, especially to cats, according to a new National Institutues of  
Health (NIH) study.  
Asthmatics, people with _allergies_ 
(http://www.livescience.com/health/051122_allergy_rise.html)   and doctors alike have long debated possible connections 
between pets, dust,  ragweed, mold, fungus, foods, cockroaches, traffic 
exhaust, smog, pollen, trees  blooming, leaves falling ... and wheezing attacks, 
which can be terrifying and  life-threatening.  
The lack of consensus can be maddening for those who stay up at night with  
kids gasping for breath, wondering what can be done. Some parents have wondered 
 if children diagnosed with asthma, and medicated for the condition, don't  
actually have an untreated allergy instead.  
The new research shows that 56.3 percent of asthma cases can be attributed to 
 atopy, or allergies, which result from _gene-environment  interactions_ 
(http://www.livescience.com/health/top_10_worst_heredity_conditions.html)  and can 
be measured by a positive skin test to substances in  the environment, said 
Darryl C. Zeldin, a senior investigator at the National  Institute of 
Environmental Health Sciences, part of the NIH.  
Cat allergens were found to account for 29.3 percent of the asthma cases,  
followed by the fungus Alternaria at 21.1 percent and White Oak at 20.9  
percent. White Oaks are long-lived trees native to eastern North America and  found 
as far west as Texas and Minnesota.  
"This study tells us that allergy is a major factor in asthma," said Peter  
Gergen of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (also part  
of NIH), lead author of the study available online today in the Journal of  
Allergy and Clinical Immunology. "But this study also tells us that thee  are 
many people who get asthma who don't have allergies. We need to do more  
research to understand what is causing the _asthma_ 
(http://www.livescience.com/health/top_10_diseases.html)  that is  not related to allergies."  
Other allergens were tested, such as ragweed, dustmites, Russian thistle,  
Bermuda grass, peanuts, perennial rye and german cockroach, but only cats, the  
fungus and white oak were positively and independently associated with asthma. 
 
"Sensitization to cat appears to be a strong risk factor for asthma in this  
study," Zeldin said. Some research suggests that exposure to cats early in 
life  may protect children from allergies, but if children have cat allergies or 
get  asthma-like symptoms, parents should consult their physician about 
whether to  get rid of pets.  
About 10,500 _individuals_ 
(http://www.livescience.com/health/top_10_about_you.html)   were tested for their link to atopy, or allergies, as part of the 
Third National  Health and Nutrition Examination Study, a national 
representative sample of the  U.S. population.  
"This study confirms that the environment plays a major role in the  
development of asthma," Zeldin said. "Given the complexity of this disease it  won't 
be easy, but if we can prevent or reverse atopy, we could reduce a large  
proportion of asthma cases."






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