Due to its novelty and lack of empirical study it remains unclear if a service dog truly mitigates the burden of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. To cross sectionally investigate the... Show moreDue to its novelty and lack of empirical study it remains unclear if a service dog truly mitigates the burden of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. To cross sectionally investigate the effect of service dogs on veterans and first aid responders with PTSD, we studied subjective and physiological parameters in 65 individuals divided over four groups. These groups were: veterans and first aid responders with PTSD and a service dog (n = 20), with PTSD and a companion dog (n = 10), with PTSD without a dog (n = 12) and a group without PTSD (n = 23). We found that veterans and first aid responders with PTSD who had a service dog showed significantly less PTSD related symptoms, better sleep quality, and better wellbeing experience, than those with a companion dog. Those with a service dog additionally experienced fewer PTSD related symptoms than those without a service dog and tended to walk more than individuals without PTSD. No differences were found in cortisol levels between groups though and changes in both salivary cortisol and activity were not linked to improved welfare experience. Though the use of physiological measurement methods thus warrants more research, our study indicates that the subjective experience of wellbeing, sleep quality and PTSD related symptoms is improved by the presence of a service dog. Show less
BACKGROUND:This study evaluated the diagnostic performance of naturally purified allergen-molecules compared to that of allergen-extracts for house dust mite, cat dander epithelium and dog dander.... Show moreBACKGROUND:This study evaluated the diagnostic performance of naturally purified allergen-molecules compared to that of allergen-extracts for house dust mite, cat dander epithelium and dog dander. METHODS:In vitro tests for allergen-specific IgE were performed on the IMMULITE(®) 2000 in serum samples from 66 allergic patients. RESULTS:House dust mite: specificity for the allergen-extract (D1) and the allergen-molecules (nDer p 1, nDer f 1, nDer p 2 and nDer f 2) is comparable. The allergen-extract has a significantly higher sensitivity (100%) and total agreement (TA) (93%) relative to sensitivity (57%-70%) and TA (76%-81%) of the individual allergen-molecules. Cat dander epithelium: sensitivity (90%), specificity (96%) and TA (94%) of the allergen-molecule (nFel d 1) are comparable to those of the allergen-extract (E1). Dog dander: The allergen-molecule (nCan d 1) and allergen-extract (E5) have comparable specificity and TA. The allergen-extract has a lower sensitivity (52%) than the allergen-molecule (71%), although not significant (p=0.125). CONCLUSIONS:There is no diagnostic benefit of using allergen-molecules instead of allergen-extracts for initial allergy screening on cat dander epithelium and dog dander. However, use of these allergen-molecules might contribute to better standardization of the specific IgE tests. The studied allergen-molecules for house dust mite are of minor diagnostic value, because of loss of sensitivity. Show less
