Researchers from LIH’s Department of Infection and Immunity substantially contributed to establishing the world’s first exhaustive handbook on Molecular Allergology. The book of more than 300 pages, named “Molecular Allergology User's Guide”, will be officially presented to the scientific and medical community at a major international congress organised by the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI), and was recently already pre-published as a supplement in the journal Pediatric Allergy and Immunology.

A collaborative achievement

Creating the “Molecular Allergology User's Guide” was a tremendous effort: a task force on molecular allergology chaired by five experts was working on the project. It coordinated the contribution by 65 authors from 20 countries. One of the task force chairs was Prof Markus Ollert, Director of LIH’s Department of Infection and Immunity. He also acted as an editor and an author in the project. He and two research group leaders from the Department of Infection and Immunity, Dr Christiane Hilger and Dr Annette Kuehn, have edited 8 of the 37 chapters of the handbook: a major input. Dr Martine Morisset, allergologist at the Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg, was also involved in the writing process.

The book covers all types of allergies: food allergy, anaphylaxis, allergic rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis, asthma, atopic dermatitis, occupational allergies and insect venom hypersensitivity. ‘The handbook is composed of three main parts’, specifies Prof Ollert. ‘The first is a comprehensive introduction presenting general concepts in allergology and allergy diagnosis. The second is about the traditional, clinically-driven top-down approach of allergy diagnosis and treatment, whereas the third presents the modern bottom-up approach which uses molecular fingerprinting of the patient’s IgE response’, he explains.

Improving global allergy care

According to the task force, there is a huge gap between new technologies emerging from allergy research and what is applied in patient care. ‘With the guide which explains in detail how to apply molecular testing in allergy diagnosis we aim to eventually fill this gap’, states Prof Ollert. He is confident that the guide will serve to improve global allergy care and will be essential for the training of future specialists in allergology. The book shall also be of help for medical specialists working in other domains, paediatricians or dermatologists for instance, who want to acquire further knowledge for optimising and personalising allergy treatment.

The handbook will be published and offically presented by the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) at the Annual EAACI Congress, taking place from 11^th to 15^th June in Vienna. This congress is the world's largest allergy and clinical immunology congress for which more than 8000 participants are expected. ‘The handbook will then be available on the EAACI website. In the near future it shall evolve to a web-based repository that can be updated on a regular basis with the latest advances in the field of allergology’, tells Prof Ollert.

Watch this video, showing an interview given by Prof Ollert during the 6^th International Symposium on Molecular Allergology (ISMA) in November 2015 in Lisbon, Portugal. In this interview, he precisely explains the purpose and benefits of the Molecular Allergology User's Guide.