Cats cure allergies and asthma

May 20, 2008 -- A study released by researchers at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCCEH) at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, shows that cat ownership may have a protective effect against the development of asthma symptoms in young children at age five. The study, published by the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, found that children with cats in the home were more likely to have made allergy-related antibodies to cats. At three years of age, children who had made antibodies to cats early in life were more likely to have wheeze, a respiratory symptom associated with asthma. However, by age five, the same children who had grown up with a cat were then found to be less likely to have wheeze....