From the authors:
We thank G. Liccardi and co-workers for their interest in our work. In our article [1], we recognised the potentially important role of endotoxin. Furthermore, we agree that allergenic exposures other than dog may be important, and we agree that dog exposure is likely not to be completely independent from simultaneous exposure to other common indoor allergens; nothing in our paper suggests otherwise. However, given the concerns of G. Liccardi and co-workers, we note that when we have examined the potential for cat or house dust mite to synergise with environmental tobacco smoke or nitrogen dioxide exposure, in an analysis analagous to that presented in our article, no such synergy is apparent. Again, given the limited sample size and specific context of our analysis, no definitive conclusion can be drawn from these results, but it is possible that dog/endotoxin may synergise more powerfully with indoor air pollutants, relative to other exposures. If so, it may be important to understand the biology that underlies this effect.
Footnotes
Statement of Interest
None declared.
- ©ERS 2011