Happy Skin Vet email update. Volume 1 Issue 2

There is a new serum allergy test - PAX .
 

Nextmune have launched their new serum allergy test called ‘PAX’ (which stands for Pet Allergy (e)Xplorer). It’s currently just for dogs, but the UK release for cats and horses is scheduled for later this year.

It replaces the Next + Serum test.

As you may know, these are not allergy tests as such, because Atopic Dermatitis is a clinical diagnosis that you get after you do your allergy work-up. These are IgE tests. They identify positive IgE reactions to environmental allergens. They are used to help with allergen avoidance or formulate Allergen Specific Immuno-Therapy (ASIT) injections.

Their previous serum test (the Next+), and the serum tests used currently by other companies use allergen extracts to look for an IgE reaction.

So, for example with house dust mite (eg Dermatophagoides farinae), the mites are grown in the lab (yechh!) and the whole mite, including its food (which is apparently some sort of ‘fish bits’) as well as the mite poo is all ground up together, and this is called the D. farinae mite extract. This is used to test for an IgE reaction. This extract is variable in quality, and not easily standardised or replicable. Now if you think about it, no organism consists of just one protein – every plant, animal, fungi and so on are composed of multiple proteins. The house dust mite genome contains some 10,000 proteins. Not every protein is an allergen, it depends on the structure of the protein. The are 5 house dust mite proteins that have been identified as allergens to dogs (they are named Der f 1, Der f 2 and so on). The PAX test looks for an IgE reaction to these individual proteins. This is why it is more specific and sensitive, and highly standardised and reproducible.

This new test also needs less serum than other tests – 0.5mls.

Nextmune have a new bit of their website called ‘Nextview’ that you can sign up to, and all your allergy tests and results are listed there, and it makes ordering immunotherapy easier.

You can register here:

 https://www.nextmunelaboratories.com/nextvu/users/login  

They also supply little Sample Submission Boxes with a post-paid envelope (you don’t have to do the annoying email the courier thing anymore).

If you want to know more there are some good webinars available:
https://go.nextmune.com/en/webinar-overview-for-vets

https://www.elearning.vet/watch/152