BACKGROUND: No published studies have compared the effectiveness of several treatments proposed to reduce cat allergenicity. Cat washing studies demonstrating efficacy involved very small sample sizes or infrequent washings. Allerpet-C (Allerpet, Inc., New York, N.Y.), a widely advertised topical spray, and acepromazine, a tranquilizer advocated as efficacious in subsedating doses, have never been scientifically studied. OBJECTIVE: We compared the effects of cat washing, Allerpet-C spray, and acepromazine with that of no treatment on the shedding of the primary cat allergen, Felis domesticus I by cats. METHODS: In a blinded, comparative, controlled study, we measured the amounts of Fel d I shed during an 8-week treatment period with a sample of 24 female mongrel cats randomly assigned to four groups; one group received weekly distilled water washings, one received weekly Allerpet-C spray applications, one received daily oral acepromazine, and one had no treatment (control). Thirty-minute, twice-weekly air samples were collected from each cat with a laminated plastic-acrylic chamber and air sampler. RESULTS: One-sample, two-sided t tests comparing baseline to final-week measurements revealed no significant change in Fel d I within each group (mean change +/- SD: washing; 487.6 +/- 1896.4 mU per 30 minutes, p = 0.63; Allerpet-C spray, 429.2 +/- 871.6 mU per 30 minutes, p = 0.46 acepromazine; -620.6 +/- 1031.2, p = 0.52 per 30 minutes). Furthermore, analysis of covariance revealed no significant change in Fel d I levels between groups (p = 0.72). CONCLUSIONS: Out data do not show significant reductions in Fel d I shedding as a result of any of these treatments. Therefore we cannot recommend them to patients allergic to cats.
BACKGROUND: No published studies have compared the effectiveness of several treatments proposed to reduce cat allergenicity. Cat washing studies demonstrating efficacy involved very small sample sizes or infrequent washings. Allerpet-C (Allerpet, Inc., New York, N.Y.), a widely advertised topical spray, and acepromazine, a tranquilizer advocated as efficacious in subsedating doses, have never been scientifically studied. OBJECTIVE: We compared the effects of cat washing, Allerpet-C spray, and acepromazine with that of no treatment on the shedding of the primary cat allergen, Felis domesticus I by cats. METHODS: In a blinded, comparative, controlled study, we measured the amounts of Fel d I shed during an 8-week treatment period with a sample of 24 female mongrel cats randomly assigned to four groups; one group received weekly distilled water washings, one received weekly Allerpet-C spray applications, one received daily oral acepromazine, and one had no treatment (control). Thirty-minute, twice-weekly air samples were collected from each cat with a laminated plastic-acrylic chamber and air sampler. RESULTS: One-sample, two-sided t tests comparing baseline to final-week measurements revealed no significant change in Fel d I within each group (mean change +/- SD: washing; 487.6 +/- 1896.4 mU per 30 minutes, p = 0.63; Allerpet-C spray, 429.2 +/- 871.6 mU per 30 minutes, p = 0.46 acepromazine; -620.6 +/- 1031.2, p = 0.52 per 30 minutes). Furthermore, analysis of covariance revealed no significant change in Fel d I levels between groups (p = 0.72). CONCLUSIONS: Out data do not show significant reductions in Fel d I shedding as a result of any of these treatments. Therefore we cannot recommend them to patientsallergic to cats.
Authors: Jay Portnoy; Kevin Kennedy; James Sublett; Wanda Phipatanakul; Elizabeth Matsui; Charles Barnes; Carl Grimes; J David Miller; James M Seltzer; P Brock Williams; Jonathan A Bernstein; David I Bernstein; Joann Blessing-Moore; Linda Cox; David A Khan; David M Lang; Richard A Nicklas; John Oppenheimer Journal: Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol Date: 2012-04 Impact factor: 6.347