[Current issues in respiratory allergology]

To summarise in a few lines our present understanding of respiratory allergies necessarily limits the number of topics which can be addressed. The role of aeroallergens in these diseases, both those which were previously unknown or non-existent and those which were well characterised (cypress, ambrosia) but which are becoming more prevalent in the atmosphere has now been demonstrated. The understanding of the mechanisms of respiratory allergies, which are essentially derived from tissue inflammation, has undergone rapid progress and evolved towards the identification of transcription factors which regulate the genes coding for cytokines, enzymes and adhesion molecules. Specific immunotherapy should be heralded as one of the key elements in the global therapeutic strategy for respiratory allergies as long as the indications for it are rationally discussed. Our increasing our knowledge of the genetics of respiratory allergies should continue to stimulate research projects, but the results obtained so far underline the complexity of this domain and diagnosis and treatment via genetics remains in the future.