Studies on histamine and histaminase in spring catarrh (vernal conjunctivitis)

Patients with spring catarrh (vernal conjunctivitis) were studied for blood histamine (36) and plasma histaminase (16), and were compared with control histamine (22) and histaminase (19) levels. The patients group showed significantly higher histamine and lower histaminase levels than the respective controls. In addition, the patients also had higher eosinophil counts and erythrocyte sedimentation rate. The data suggest that a systemic allergic process may be the most important underlying causative factor in this disorder.