[Revisiting allergy. 35 years after Ishizaka's discovery of IgE]

Some food intolerance ascribable to the individual, namely to the way he reacts to food (in particular, to cheese), was described by Hippocrates (as early as 460-375 B.C.) Since the beginning of modern era, a fascinating literature reports respiratory distress retrospectively viewed as of allergic-asthmatic origin. In the early twenties of 20th century the existence of "reagins" was first signaled, while we have to wait over four decades for the demonstration that these "reagins" were antibodies of the IgE class. However, at the present time, we have reached deep insight into the issue of allergy physio-pathology: from the role of Th2 lymphocytes to that of cytokines selectively involved in the onset of allergic inflammatory reactions, with the future goal of treatments focused more on the physio-pathology of "allergic reactions" than on counteracting its effects.