Allergy research is intensifying and diversifying. Presented are examples of several laboratories that are exploring different paths. In a research institute in Hanover, volunteers are exposed to pollen rain, while in a hospital in Berlin they study infants’ immune systems by testing their reaction to controlled bacteria attacks. In Munich, scientists are analysing the link between micro dust, pollen and allergies. At the Vienna faculty of medicine, Rudolf Valenta is developing a vaccine derived from artificial allergens, while in Hamburg a team of biologists is working on the use of minuscule parasites as antidotes for contemporary allergies. These research paths give us hope of rapid progress.
