Press Release

ATTENTION: CITY DESK/
ASSIGNMENT EDITORS
Contact: Tom Capezzuto
(973) 972-7273
E-mail: capezzta@umdnj.edu

UMDNJ Allergist Says Exposure to Cat Allergen May Prevent Development of Allergies in Young Children

Cites Swedish Study Published in October Issue of Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology

Children who are exposed to high levels of cat allergen may never develop allergies, says an allergy specialist at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) who backs a Swedish study reported in the October 2003 issue of Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

Researchers studied nearly 2,500 seven and eight-year-old children for sensitization who were exposed to cats in their homes and found that persistent exposure to high levels of animal allergen, most commonly found in cats, appeared to protect against the development of allergies in both boys and girls, noted Dr. Leonard Bielory, director of the Asthma and Allergy Research Center at the UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School in Newark.

"The study showed that 80 percent of children who shared living quarters with cats had a substantially lower incidence of acquiring allergies when compared to new pet owners or children who had not been exposed to these pets at home," Dr. Bielory said.

"There is an assumption that allergy symptoms increase when a child who is allergic is exposed to the allergen has resulted in the assumption that avoiding cats and other pets at home protects against the development of an allergy to the animal," Dr. Bielory said. "But this study disproves that theory."

The journal also reported that breast feeding may decrease the risk of asthma and that a urine test may diagnose asthma in infants.

To discuss these findings with Dr. Bielory, call Tom Capezzuto, UMDNJ News Service coordinator, at (973) 972-7273.

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