Therapeutic targets in allergic eye disease

The objective of this article is to provide an overview of the present stat e of treatment of ocular allergy. Immuno-ophthalmology arose in the portion of this past century when investigators uncovered the uniqueness of the le ns proteins and that it could induce an immunological response otherwise kn ow as phacoanaphylaxis. Further studies have shown many similarities betwee n the eye and other organ systems, but one of the most profound problems wa s the spring "catarrh" that involved the eyes and nose, i.e., rhinoconjunct ivitis. Treatment over the past 10 years has expanded with th better unders tanding of the allergic response at the conjunctival surface. Allergen immu notherapy remains a cornerstone of treatment In fact, the very first report of the use of immunotherapy in 1911 "measured the patient's resistance dur ing experiments... of pollen extracts to excite a conjunctival reaction".