Milestones in the 20th Century

Abstract

From its very beginning, the 20th century represented the period of the main breakthrough for allergology as a clinical and scientific entity. The first years of this period were extraordinarily exciting because of the discovery of the anaphylactic reaction in 1902 and its clinical diagnosis as 'local anaphylaxis', 'serum sickness' (1903) or even as 'anaphylactic shock' (1907). The term 'allergy' was coined in 1906 and led to the recognition of allergic diseases as a pathogenetic entity. The first patient organization of hay fever sufferers was founded in Germany in 1900, the same year in which the very first report on immunotherapy was published in New York. In 1911 the era of actual immunotherapy started in London, becoming scientific with the first double-blind study in 1956, and still today being regarded as the backbone of allergology. In 1919 it was shown that allergy could be transferred by blood, in 1921 by serum (Prausnitz-Küstner test) and in 1966 the mystic 'reagins' were recognized as immunoglobulin (Ig) E. The development of the radioallergosorbent test for quantifying specific IgE antibody was a diagnostic landmark for allergists all over the world. The history of allergy diagnosis started with the introduction of a 'functional skin test', named the patch test in 1894. The scratch test was described in 1912 and the patch test in 1931. From 1908 the skin was tested by intracutaneous injections, and from 1930 by a 'puncture test' (a precursor of the prick test) which has been in worldwide use in modified variations since 1959. The rub test ('friction test') was added in 1961. Systematically applied provocation tests started with conjunctival provocation (1907), followed by nasal and bronchial provocation with allergens (1914 and 1925).

Diagnosis and treatment of allergic diseases in Zhejiang Province: A cross-sectional survey

“…The clinical subspecialty of allergic studies has developed quickly with the significant increases in international organizations and domestic associations for allergic studies such as the World Allergy Organization (WAO), Global Allergy and Asthma European Network (GA 2 LEN), European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI), and American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) (Hurwitz, 1953;Warner et al, 2006;Bergmann, 2014). These academic organizations for allergic studies have contributed greatly to the development of the subspecialty through professional physician-training and guideline-releases (Cox et al, 2011;Bousquet et al, 2012).…”

“…These academic organizations for allergic studies have contributed greatly to the development of the subspecialty through professional physician-training and guideline-releases (Cox et al, 2011;Bousquet et al, 2012). As a result, laboratory exams of allergen diagnosis and allergen-specific immunotherapy have been carried out extensively through clinical practices, which play important roles in treating allergic diseases (Krouse and Mabry, 2003;Burks et al, 2013;Bergmann, 2014;Fornadley, 2014). It should be noted that an allergy/immunology physician workforce is growing steadily with increasing diversity and occupational satisfaction (Marshall, 2007).…”

Historic overview of allergy research in the Netherlands

“…For an extensive overview of the early history of Allergy worldwide, with all the references, see [1]. The most prominent Dutch pioneers in the pre-IgE era of allergology were Storm van Leeuwen, Voorhorst and Berrens.…”

“…The relevance of mites was a matter of fierce discussions between Berrens and Voorhorst. The achievements of Storm van Leeuwen and Voorhorst [1,3,8]. History has been less kind to Berrens.…”

“…With the discovery of IgE in 1966 by Ishizaka and by Johansson, and the development of the RadioAllergoSorbent Test (RAST) by Wide, Bennich and Johansson in 1967, (for references see [1]), tools became available to investigate the allergenicity of house dust from a different perspective. Using sera selectively positive for mites or cats and performing inhibition of IgE binding to house dust extract by cat and mite extracts, it was found that both mite and cat allergens were found in all Dutch dust extracts, albeit in different ratios [16].…”