Research

Aluminum sulfate significantly reduces the skin test response to common allergens in sensitized patients

C Steven Smith^1,2 , Scott A Smith³ , Thomas J Grier⁴ and David E Justus³

¹  Private practice, Fellow of the College and Academy of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology, Louisville, KY, USA

²  Department of Pediatrics, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY, USA

³  Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY, USA

⁴  Research and Development Laboratory, Greer Laboratories Inc., P.O. Box 800, Lenoir, NC, USA

author email corresponding author email

Clinical and Molecular Allergy 2006, 4:1doi:10.1186/1476-7961-4-1

Published:	14 February 2006

Abstract

Background

Avoidance of allergens is still recommended as the first and best way to prevent allergic illnesses and their comorbid diseases. Despite a variety of attempts there has been very limited success in the area of environmental control of allergic disease. Our objective was to identify a non-invasive, non-pharmacological method to reduce indoor allergen loads in atopic persons' homes and public environments. We employed a novel in vivo approach to examine the possibility of using aluminum sulfate to control environmental allergens.

Methods

Fifty skin test reactive patients were simultaneously skin tested with conventional test materials and the actions of the protein/glycoprotein modifier, aluminum sulfate. Common allergens, dog, cat, dust mite, Alternaria, and cockroach were used in the study.

Results

Skin test reactivity was significantly reduced by the modifier aluminum sulfate. Our studies demonstrate that the effects of histamine were not affected by the presence of aluminum sulfate. In fact, skin test reactivity was reduced independent of whether aluminum sulfate was present in the allergen test material or removed prior to testing, indicating that the allergens had in some way been inactivated.

Conclusion

Aluminum sulfate was found to reduce the in vivo allergic reaction cascade induced by skin testing with common allergens. The exact mechanism is not clear but appears to involve the alteration of IgE-binding epitopes on the allergen. Our results indicate that it may be possible to diminish the allergenicity of an environment by application of the active agent aluminum sulfate, thus producing environmental control without complete removal of the allergen.