A new chemical compound may help alleviate the suffering of humans who are allergic to cats. A new study shows that the compound virtually shut down the allergic reaction to cats in tests conductced on mice. The mice were specifically bred to be allergic to cats. The results of the study were published in the April issue of the journal 'Nature Medicine.'

There is also hope that this method could be helpful in preventing more serious allergies such as the human allergy to peanuts that can prove deadly at times.

'This novel approach to treating cat allergies is encouraging news for millions of cat-allergic Americans. Moreover, these results provide proof-of-concept for using this approach to develop therapies to prevent deadly food allergy reactions as well,' said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which paid for the study.

The new approach combines human antibodies with cat dander. The research team, based at UCLA, called the new compound gamma Feline domesticus. The cat allergen attaches to antibodies on the immune system and prevents a histimine reaction from starting. This prevents the sneezing, watery eyes and runny nose common in people who are allergic to cats.

'We measured more than 90 percent less histamine in the (human cell) cultures with GFD,' Dr. Andrew Saxon, a leader of the study told Reuters. 'Those results suggested that GFD successfully prevented the immune cells from reacting to cat allergen. The next step was to test GFD in mice that we had made allergic to the allergenic protein found in cat saliva and dander.'

The researchers are hopeful that this method can be used to treat many different kinds of allergies.

While the technology may still be some years away and has yet to be tested on humans, the results of this study hold out new hope for cat lovers everywhere.