Therapeutic targets in allergic eye disease

The objective of this article is to provide an overview of the present state of treatment of ocular allergy. Immuno-ophthalmology arose in the portion of this past century when investigators uncovered the uniqueness of the lens proteins and that it could induce an immunological response otherwise know as phacoanaphylaxis. Further studies have shown many similarities between the eye and other organ systems, but one of the most profound problems was the spring "catarrh" that involved the eyes and nose, i.e., rhinoconjunctivitis. Treatment over the past 10 years has expanded with the better understanding of the allergic response at the conjunctival surface. Allergen immunotherapy remains a cornerstone of treatment. In fact, the very first report of the use of immunotherapy in 1911 "measured the patient's resistance during experiments ... of pollen extracts to excite a conjunctival reaction" (Noon L, and Cantar BO, Lancet 1572-1573, 1911).