New Hot Paper Comment by S.G.O. Johansson

Dr. S.G.O. Johansson answers a few questions about this month's new hot paper in the field of Immunology.

From •>>September 2002

Field: Immunology
Article Title: A revised nomenclature for allergy - An EAACI position statement from the EAACI nomenclature task force
Authors: Johansson, SGO;Hourihane, JO;Bousquet, J;Bruijnzeel-Koomen, C;Dreborg, S;Haahtela, T;Kowalski, ML;Mygind, N;Ring, J;van Cauwenberge, P;van Hage-Hamsten, M;Wuthrich, B
Journal: ALLERGY
Volume: 56
Page: 813-824
Year: SEP 2001
* Karolinska Hosp, Dept Med, Allergy & Clin Immunol Unit, L2-03, SE-17176 Stockholm, Sweden.
* Karolinska Hosp, Dept Med, Allergy & Clin Immunol Unit, SE-17176 Stockholm, Sweden.
* Univ Southampton, Allergy & Inflammat Sci Div, Southampton, Hants, England.
* Hop Arnaud Villeneuve, Serv Malad Resp, Montpellier, France.
* State Univ Utrecht Hosp, Dept Dermatol, NL-3511 GV Utrecht, Netherlands.
* Voksentoppen, Oslo, Norway.
* Univ Helsinki, Cent Hosp, Div Allergy Skin & Allergy Hosp, Helsinki, Finland.
* Fac Med, Dept Allergy & Clin Immunol, Lodz, Poland.
* Aarhus Univ Hosp, Dept Resp Dis, DK-8000 Aarhus, Denmark.
* Tech Univ Munich, Klin & Poliklin Dermatol Allergol, D-8000 Munich, Germany.
* State Univ Ghent Hosp, Dept Otorhinolaryngol, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium.
* Univ Zurich Hosp, Dept Dermatol, Allergy Unit, CH-8091 Zurich, Switzerland.

Why do you think your paper is highly cited?

A common understanding expressed in a common terminology is of utmost importance in the medical field in order to allow both the development of science and the improvement of patient care. The European Academy of Allergology and Clinical Immunology, EAACI, realized some years ago that the field of allergy was falling apart because a given term had a different meaning in different clinical and scientific specialties and also in different parts of the world. EAACI nominated a Task Force, which I had the pleasure to chair, with the aim being to revise the nomenclature of allergy. The EAACI Position statement has been very much appreciated! It will soon be available in 4 languages and an extract of the new terms; "EAACI Allergy Definitions" is today available at the EAACI web site in 23 languages. Anyone interested is welcome to download the document and use it in his/her profession.

Does it describe a new discovery or new methodology that’s useful to others?

The article describes a language allowing scientists, physician, patients and politicians to communicate in the field of allergy medicine.

What were some of the circumstances that led you to do this research?

I had noticed a decline in the sharpness of the daily use of terms of allergy. E.g. allergic asthma was defined as asthma with an increased IgE level in serum. A genetic marker for allergy defined in this way would, at its best, be a marker for the production of the immunoglobulin E, which has little, if any, relation to why and how IgE antibodies to a specific allergen is produced. And allergy is due to IgE antibodies reacting with its corresponding allergen initiating an inflammatory reaction. My proposal to EAACI to nominate a Task Force for nomenclature revision was accepted.

Can you summarize the significance of your paper in layman’s terms?

If we do not speak in one and the same medical language we can not talk to each other. If words used to explain a disease, its cause and how it should be diagnosed, prevented and treated have a different meaning among doctors and patients, the only result is confusion, confusion and more confusion. Our article is an important step in the direction of defining the specific terms used to describe allergies and allergic symptoms.

S.G.O. Johansson, MD, Ph.D., Prof. of Clinical Immunology,
Karolinska Institute,
Stockholm, Sweden
Dept of Clinical Immunology and Transfusion Medicine,
Karolinska Hospital,
Stockholm, Sweden

ESI Special Topics, September 2002
Citing URL - http://www.esi-topics.com/nhp/comments/september-02-GunnarJohansson.html