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Conference misery::feline

Title:Meower Power - Where Differing Opinions are Respected
Notice:purrrrr...
Moderator:JULIET::CORDES_JA
Created:Wed Nov 13 1991
Last Modified:Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:1079
Total number of notes:28858

1001.0. "Allervax - Cat Allergy Vaccine" by CATMAX::SKALTSIS (Deb) Tue May 14 1996 08:26

    The following is from the WCVB- Channel 5 (Boston)'s "Health Beat"
    web page. (The full url is:
	http://www.wcvb.com/wm/5ol/page/5ol/5ol_hbstory/hbstory/hb960509-1)

    I've reformatted it to fit 80 cols.

    Deb
    
This Report from Medical Reporter Heather Kahn aired 09-May-1996


On the HealthBeat, allergies can make you miserable...and can lead to serious
respiratory problems like asthma.

But there is a promising new drug...that acts like a vaccine to change the way
the body reacts to allergens.

NewsCenter 5's Heather Kahn reports on what could be a shot in the arm for
millions of allergy sufferers. 

Thirty six year old Rob Blanks feels less than "purrfect" when he's around cats. 

    " Impaired breathing. scratchy throat, sneezing, runny nose. It's not a
pretty sight." 

But Rob is no scaredy cat...He's preparing to enter New England Medical Center's
cat room. Caked in feline fur, doctors are using it to test a new vaccine. 

Allervax, developed by a Waltham company, is a synthetic protein..unlike an
allergy shot which provides short term relief for symptoms, it can provide up
to a year of relief or longer. It works by retraining the immune
system...telling it to turn off the allergic reaction. 

    "It's modifying the disease. So perhaps it will allow patients who have
developed a disease to change the course of their disease and overtime have
their disease goaway." 

Rob is part of close to 300 patients undergoing the last phase of study on the
drug. He wears an air monitoring system that registers the amount of allergens
he is exposed to. 

    " About 80 percent of the people participating in our trials received a
benefit." 

The makers of Allervax are developing similar vaccines for ragweed and dust
mites. But doctors say cats are the culprit in an increasing number of
allergies and asthma cases. 

    "Modern fuel efficient houses that are tighter in terms of the air
circulation it makes for environments where the cat allergen is actually
more intense." 

    "I used to have a boss who had a cat and every time I went into her house
for dinner or something I'd have to take all kinds of antihistamines and be
sleepy and tired and this way. I hope I won't have to do that." 

The makers of Allervax hope to have it available to doctors for use next year.
The dose consists of four shots taken over two weeks. And again because the
drug is new and still undergoing testing, doctors aren't sure how long the
drug is effective - but they HOPE it will work for one year.
T.RTitleUserPersonal
Name		DateLines
1001.1CAT ALLERGY VACCINE TRIALS SUCCESSFULCATMAX::SKALTSISDebMon Feb 17 1997 13:34131
From - Mon Feb 17 16:31:36 1997
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From: "[N2GYN] JOHN AZZARA" <[email protected]>
Newsgroups: alt.health.cfs,sci.med
Subject: Cat Vaccine
Date: Sat, 15 Feb 1997 13:27:54 -0500
Organization: LI Net (Long Island Network)
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Anyone have any more info on this Vaccine?
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
From John AZZARA [N2GYN]
And The Creator Of alt.health.cfs      Since 12/06/96
Please Reply To: [email protected]	
Thank You And 73's
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.


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                     CAT ALLERGY VACCINE TRIALS SUCCESSFUL
                                       
   Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions Office Of Communications and Public
   Affairs
   On Line: [email protected].
   Media contact: Michael Purdy (410) 955-8725
   E-mail: [email protected]
   
   
   
   
   
   EMBARGOED FOR THURSDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1996 AT 6:00 P.M.
   
   CAT ALLERGY VACCINE TRIALS SUCCESSFUL
   
   A new cat allergy vaccine, ALLERVAX CAT, reduces allergy symptoms
   faster and with far fewer injections than traditional allergy shots,
   according to a joint study by researchers at Johns Hopkins and the New
   England Medical Center.
   
   "Traditional allergy shots inject water and extracts from allergens
   like cat dander or pollen," says Phil Norman, M.D., professor of
   medicine. "This vaccine only injects very specific parts of cat
   allergens selected for their ability to favorably stimulate the immune
   system."
   
   Results of the first major clinical trial of ALLERVAX CAT, developed
   by Hopkins and the pharmaceutical company ImmuLogic, are published in
   this month's issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical
   Care Medicine. The trial was funded by ImmuLogic Pharmaceutical Corp.,
   a Massachussetts company.
   
   The research team gave 95 cat-allergic patients four injections of
   various levels of the vaccine or a placebo. Afterward, they were
   exposed to a room containing cats.
   
   "Based on the patients' evaluation of their symptoms, the vaccine
   significantly reducing sneezing, itching, watery eyes and inflammation
   after a month of treatment," Norman says.
   
   Allergy shots, Norman notes, typically require many more injections
   over the course of three months to produce results.
   
   Shots also create a small risk of a serious allergic reaction. "In
   contrast, patients receiving the vaccine occasionally have mild
   symptoms on the injection day, but they require only simple
   treatment," Norman notes.
   
   Vaccines are based on the idea that the proteins in allergens contain
   parts known as epitopes that stimulate the immune system. Separated
   from the rest of the protein, these epitopes interact with immune
   cells in a positive manner, causing a series of reactions that makes
   future allergic attacks less likely. But because the epitopes are
   given as a part of the whole protein in traditional allergy shots, the
   shots take a long time to work and sometimes trigger allergic
   reactions.
   
   "If we're correct, this could make vaccines a superior approach for
   controlling many allergies," Norman says.
   
   A trial of a 2-week ALLERVAX CAT injection program is currently
   underway. Further studies also are planned to clarify how long the
   vaccine's effects last and how often follow-up injections are needed.
   If all goes well, Norman says, ALLERVAX CAT may be available in
   allergy clinics in several years.
   
   Early trials are also currently underway for a ragweed allergy
   vaccine. --JHMI-- Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions' news releases
   can be accessed on-line through the following services:
   
   
   
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     _________________________________________________________________
   
   
   
    Office of Communications and Public Affairs: DECEMBER 19, 1996
    [email protected]
    Johns Hopkins Hospital/School of Medicine
    Technical Contact: [email protected]
    JHMI-InfoNet: Dec 20, 1996