Increased Bronchial Responsiveness (BR) When Exposed to Cats

Filed in archive Allergy: Research and Development , Pet Allergies on July 3, 2007

In people with certain common allergies (even if they are not specifically allergic to cats), increased exposure to cat allergen has been found by British researchers to be associated with greater bronchial responsiveness (BR).

According to Susan Chinn, D.Sc., lead author of the study:

"This was an unexpected finding. We presupposed that we would find increased responsiveness only in those individuals who were exposed to cat allergen and whose blood tests showed that they were allergic to cats.
But our study suggests that all allergic individuals have signs of asthmatic responses if exposed to cat allergen, even if blood tests show that they are not allergic to cats."

The researchers reported their findings in the first issue for July 2007 of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, published by the American Thoracic Society.

Find more details from the full report.