It may be AP Dog if he’s allergic to his canine companion.
According to the U.S. Pet Ownership & Demographics Sourcebook (2012), there is at least one dog living in over 36 percent of US households. That translates to 43,346,000 homes with at least one dog in residence. While only 10 percent1 of people are allergic to them, with 317,382,8912 Americans that works out to 31,738,289 potential allergies. These statistics, coupled with mankind’s love of their pets, have created a strong demand for relief from allergies to dog hair and/or dander.
Trying to avoid the allergens may sound like an option for those who aren’t emotionally attached to the cause of their symptoms, but even those people cannot count on relief without treatment. The National Survey of Lead Allergens in Housing3 revealed that even in homes without pets, including new construction, levels of Can f 1 and Fel d 1 were present at levels shown to increase risk of allergic sensitization. The animal lovers out there take a little of their pets with them wherever they go, and it seems they can’t help but leave a little behind, too.
Achieving efficacious dosing for your dog-sensitive patients is key to their relief. If your patients do not seem to be making the progress you hoped for, it’s likely the fault of the antigen you are using to treat. According to the practice parameters, “the major allergen content of most dog extracts is too low to allow effective dosing, even with undiluted manufacturers’ extracts. However, in one study using an extract containing approximately 161mg/mL Can f 1 (Hollister-Stier Laboratories, Spokane, Wash), there was a significant dose response of immunologic parameters similar to that demonstrated with other allergens.”4
It stands to reason that if the allergen content of most dog extracts is too low for treatment, the accuracy in testing with those same extracts should come into question. J.B. Meiser and H. S. Nelson MD explored this idea in their study A Single-Center Trial Comparing Standard Dog and Acetone Precipitated Allergen Extract Skin Testing.5 In the study, they found that when testing with AP Dog, 59 subjects tested positive, and when the same patients were tested with regular dog extract, only 36 had positive reactions. Preventing false negatives in testing by choosing to test with AP Dog will give you more accurate diagnoses, and bring symptom relief to patients that could easily have had their allergy to Fido overlooked.
HollisterStier Allergy uses the AP extraction process, which employs a specially developed acetone precipitation technique to remove lower-molecular-weight materials that are potentially non-specific irritants while concentrating the proteins. The process requires up to 50 times as much raw material as a regular extraction process. The result of this specialized process is a quality product to use in your practice.
With the right testing and treatment plan using AP Dog, your patients should be doing a lot more tail wagging.
SOURCES
1 ”Dog Allergy.” Allergist. Find an allergist. Find relief. American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, 2010, web. (http://www.acaai.org/allergist/allergies/Types/pet-allergies/Pages/dog-allergy.aspx)
2 ”US and World Population Clock.” United States Census Bureau. U.S. Department of Commerce, 16 January 2014. Web. (http://www.census.gov/popclock/)
3 Arbes, Cohn, Yin, Muilenberg, Friedman, and Zeldin. “Dog allergen (Can f 1) and cat allergen (Fel d 1) in US homes: Results from the National Survey of Lead and Allergens in Housing.”J Allergy Clin Immunol 2004; 114:11-7.
4 Cox, Nelson, and Lockey. “Allergen immunotherapy: A practice parameter third update.” J Allergy Clin Immunol 2010; 127: S33.
5 J.B. Meiser, and H. S. Nelson MD. “A Single –Center Trial Comparing Standard Dog and Acetone Precipitated Allergen Extract Skin Testing.” Abstract 21-ACAAI 2000 Annual Meeting
WARNINGS
This product is intended for use only by licensed medical personnel experienced in administering allergenic extracts and trained to provide immediate emergency treatment in the event of a life-threatening reaction. Allergenic extracts may potentially elicit a severe life-threatening systemic reaction, rarely resulting in death.1 Therefore, emergency measures and personnel trained in their use must be available immediately in the event of such a reaction. Patients should be instructed to recognize adverse reaction symptoms, be observed in the office for at least 30 minutes after skin testing or treatment, and be cautioned to contact the physician’s office if symptoms occur. See ADVERSE REACTION section of this package insert regarding adverse event reporting.
Standardized glycerinated extracts may be more potent than regular extracts and therefore are not directly interchangeable with non-standardized extracts, or other manufacturers’ products. Patients with cardiovascular diseases and/or pulmonary diseases such as symptomatic unstable, steroid-dependent asthma, and/or those who are receiving cardiovascular drugs such as beta blockers, may be at higher risk for severe adverse reactions. These patients may also be more refractory to the normal allergy treatment regimen. Patients should be treated only if the benefit of treatment outweighs the risks.1 Patients on beta blockers may be more reactive to allergens given for testing or treatment and may be unresponsive to the usual doses of epinephrine used to treat allergic reactions.2 This product should never be injected intravenously. Refer to the WARNINGS, PRECAUTIONS, ADVERSE REACTIONS and OVERDOSE sections for further discussion.
1 Lockey, R.F., L.M. Benedict, P.C. Turkletaub, S.C. Bukantz. Fatalities from immunotherapy (IT) and skin testing (ST). J. Allergy Clin. Immunol., 79 (4): 660-677, 1987.
2 Jacobs, R.L., G.W. Rake, Jr., et al. Potentiated anaphylaxis in patients with drug-induced beta-adrenergic blockade. J. Allergy Clin. Immunol., 68 (2): 125-127, August 1981.
