Conditions: Cat Allergy
Keywords: cat allergy
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: PARALLEL
Enrollment: 19
Healthy volunteers: yes

Brief summary:
This research is being done to study the effects of the drug omalizumab (Xolair) in people with cat allergies. The investigators will use omalizumab to study changes in the cells in the nose, cells in the blood and cells in the skin that cause allergies. The investigators will compare the changes in the nose to changes in the skin and blood cells.

Objective: To test the hypothesis that treatment with omalizumab will decrease the nasal allergen challenge late-phase eosinophil count in nasal brushings at the time when blood basophils have become hypo-responsive to in vitro allergen exposure.

Detailed description:
This is a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel group design study that includes 3.5 months of treatment with omalizumab or placebo and a 3 month follow-up. All subjects will be cat allergic.

Twenty four subjects (1:1 randomization) will undergo a cat allergen nasal challenge prior to treatment and another challenge after 2 months of treatment or when their blood basophils become hyporesponsive to cat allergen in vitro. A second group of 10 subjects (1:1 active:placebo), will not undergo nasal challenges. This group will participate in an ancillary study in which the effects of omalizumab on gene expression profiles in peripheral blood cells will be studied.

Arms:
arm 1: Active treatment: Experimental This arm will receive treatment with omalizumab at the dose FDA-approved for the treatment of allergic asthma. arm 2: This arm will receive treatment with a placebo injections based on the FDA-approved dosing schedule approved for omalizumab for the treatment of allergic asthma.In general injection number and frequency are determined by a subject's weight and IgE level.

Interventions: intervention 1: Omalizumab intervention 2: Placebo
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: Injections subcutaneously (up to 3) every 2 or 4 wks based on the subjects weight and baseline total serum IgE level as approved for therapy in allergic asthma. Duration of therapy is approximately 14 wks. intervention 2: Injections subcutaneously (up to 3) every 2 or 4 wks based on the subjects weight and baseline total serum IgE level as approved for therapy in allergic asthma. Duration of therapy is approximately 14 wks.

Protocol document: