Content sponsored by Nextmune
At VMX 2023 in Orlando, Florida, Thierry Olivieri, DrVet, PhD, DACVD, DECVD and Head of Research and Development at Nextmune, discussed how the advent of molecular allergology promises a radical change in the speed, accuracy and effectiveness of allergy testing. Treatment.1
“Clinical evaluations in dogs and cats are inaccurate in predicting. And chemically, the basic diagnostic process is a thorough examination and oral stimulation—an elimination diet allows you to act as a stimulus; an elimination diet alone is of no value,” Oliveri said.
Furthermore, a food allergy is not a diagnosis like a bacterial infection. “If I tell you [that] You have a bacterial infection, you don’t know where it is, you don’t know what form it is,” he pointed out. “The same is true with food allergies, and food extracts are also desensitizing.”
By definition, a food allergy is an immunologic reaction that may involve specific IgE, lymphocytes, or both. It is a complex syndrome. And in animals, it’s the same situation with different manifestations – some are IgE-mediated, some are cell-mediated.
What is molecular biology?
Molecular biology is a new concept in veterinary medicine. It diagnoses immunoglobulin E (IgE) sensitivity. Traditionally, in veterinary clinics, allergy testing uses allergen extraction with ELISA while molecular biology uses individual allergens shown to be relevant. The challenge is the inherent variability and lack of standardization in extract composition. And most extracts may not contain significant allergens.
Molecular Allergology
In humans, molecular allergology is beneficial for a serial diagnosis. Molecular allergology inherently increases test sensitivity, and it can help define and identify important allergens and cross-reactive or less important ones.
“Cross-reactivity is a phenomenon that is not confined to the laboratory,” Oliveri said. “It’s a problem when you have an immune response to a protein antigen or allergen, and because of that, you have a reaction to proteins that have a similar structure.”
In humans, you can predict clinical development and severity, which is important to help identify better allergens to include in immunotherapy. These benefits are the same for pets, and since the results are more accurate and sensitive, there is more relief for customers’ companion pets. Results are also region-specific and pet-/species-specific.
Furthermore, pilot trials in Europe using molecular allergology show a reduction in the number of allergens in the pattern by more than 50%, Oliveri said.
context
- Olivry T. Molecular allergology: the future of allergy testing and immunotherapy. Presented at: Veterinary Meetings and Expos. January 14-18, 2023; Orlando, FL