History of Allergy: Clinical Descriptions, Pathophysiology, and Treatment

Allergy has shown a dramatic increase in prevalence in the last decades. However, allergic diseases are probably not new. Asthma and eczema have been described in ancient societies like Egypt, China and in the Greco-Roman culture. In the middle-ages descriptions of hay fever can be found in Persian-Arabian literature (called "rose fever"). Scientific allergology started in the nineteenth century with descriptions of hay fever and experimental studies showing pollen as elicitors. Milestones in the twentieth century comprise the description of anaphylaxis, the creation of the terms "allergy" and "atopy", the Prausnitz-Kustner test and finally the discovery of IgE and the development of the Radio-Allergo-Sorbent-Test (RAST) for routine detection of specific IgE antibodies. Progress in cellular immunology led to the description of T-cell subsets Th1 and Th2. Mast cell and basophil research progressed since the first description to histamine release studies. Leukotrienes were detected. Pharmacotherapy started in the early twentieth century with adrenaline (epinephrine) followed by antihistamines and cortisone. Allergen-specific immunotherapy was introduced. Epidemiologic studies pointed to a role of environmental pollutants as allergy enhancing factors and protective influences from farm environment. Through the progress in experimental allergology and immunology targeted therapeutics have been developed for various atopic conditions.