18 November 2008: 11.00–12.00

101 Questions You Always Wanted To Ask About Allergy

Dr David A. Basketter, DABMEB Consultancy Ltd

Many chemicals can (and unfortunately do) cause allergies of various types. These include, in no particular order, fragrances, preservatives, emulsifiers, excipients, natural extracts and many other materials. Unsurprisingly (and again in no particular order), consumers, regulators, health professionals and industry want to identify such chemicals so that the risks to human health can be assessed and managed.

In this seminar, we will look at the ways in which the chemicals that can cause allergy can be identified, considering in silico and in vitro approaches, as well as more traditional in vivo and clinical types of testing.

However, simply showing that a material is a sensitisation hazard, and therefore a potential human allergen, is not sufficient. What really matters is assessing the risk to human health, both skin allergies and respiratory effects. Therefore, much of the presentation will focus on how risks are assessed, including how allergen potency can be measured and so permit the determination of a safe exposure level.

Nevertheless, even the best proactive risk assessment must still have elements of uncertainty (which will be described), and this may lead to sensitised consumers. So the seminar will also consider the allergic individual, what predisposes them to become sensitised and how they can be protected. Then, mixed in with all of this, will be discussion of various aspects of allergy testing, including dermatologists, in vitro alternatives, validation and the worrying topics of EU regulations (such as REACH and the Cosmetics Directive) and the SCCP.

However, above all, you can challenge the presenter with any questions/issues on the topic of allergy, at least as it relates to the cosmetic industry and expect to get a decent answer! Send your questions in advance and they will be addressed in the seminar – thereby ensuring that the content directly addresses your current needs.