Nomenclature of allergic diseases and hypersensitivity reactions: Adapted to modern needs: An EAACI position paper published in 'Allergy'

DAVOS, Switzerland, Oct. 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The revision of the current allergic disease nomenclature based on symptoms and organ dysfunction has been long-awaited at the time of modern patient-tailored treatments and precision medicine. The new classification is based on disease mechanisms, thus facilitating targeted and personalised disease management.

EAACI is the world leader in allergy science and education. The world's key opinion leaders gathered around the initiative of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) to present a new classification of allergic disorders based on the mechanisms of diseases. Published online today in Allergy, the position paper reveals the new way allergic diseases are perceived.

We expect the new classification to  profoundly change the healthcare professionals' approach to managing allergic diseases since it provides key solutions to a personalised approach. It is focused on the roles of immune-competent cells, changes in the tissues, the role of microbial infections, and genetic and epigenetic influences, all affecting the protective epithelial barrier of the skin, respiratory tract and gut.

The exponential growth of precision diagnostic tools, including omic technology, molecular diagnostics, imaging, sophisticated genetic and epigenetic editing, nano-technologies, etc., compels us to introduce a more nuanced concept, moving the field towards precision and personalised medicine. The general consensus and fast dissemination of the new nomenclature of allergic diseases are crucial to developing the entire field of management of immune-mediated diseases.

The cultural change brought by the new nomenclature will lead to novel concepts of diagnostic tools, improving therapies, and disease management and will guide future research into more innovative strategies for patient care. This will include new pinpoint targeted immune-based therapies, especially with substances made from living organisms, called biologicals, allergen immunotherapy, as well as strategies to alter the composition of the microbiome in humans among many others.  

The value of an idea lies in the use of it. We hope that the new nomenclature for allergic diseases developed by EAACI will help healthcare professionals and patients find a better way to manage and even cure allergic diseases.

Contact:

Prof. Marek Jutel MD, Head of the Department of Clinical Immunology, Wroclaw Medical University, Poland. [email protected], phone +48 71 784 17 40

Prof. Ioana Agache MD, Faculty of Medicine, Transylvania University, Brasov, Romania.  [email protected], phone +40 727 849 321

Prof. Dr. Cezmi A. Akdis, Director, Swiss Institute of Allergy and Asthma Research, Davos, Switzerland. [email protected], phone: ++41 78 738 82 84

Direct link to download free access article: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/all.15889