Effect of Xolair on Allergy Tests

[Guest guest]

My asthmatic friend Kathy visited a new doctor yesterday, an allergist who

tested her via skin pricks for allergies to all kinds of stuff. Big

surprise: A few things that had provoked a reaction in testing a few

months ago - notably cat hair - provoked no reaction at all this time.

She had told the doctor about her injections of Xolair, which started last

September, but he didn't say whether the Xolair could have caused this

change.

I checked the Website for Xolair (www.xolair.com) and can find nothing

about the effect of the drug on allergy tests, so I am asking the good

people in this group:

1. Does Xolair change a patient's reactions to skin tests for allergens?

2. If so, is the lack of reaction to a substance that previously provoked

a reaction simply a change in the response to the test (i.e., a false

negative), or does it indicate a true absence of allergy to that substance

(i.e., a remission of that allergy)? It would be great news if Kathy were

now really free of allergy to cats!

Thank you for your help, good people, and best wishes with your own

issues.

Gordon

Ramsey, New Jersey