ABSTRACT
H1-receptor antagonists have been the mainstay of therapy for allergic rhinitis since they were first introduced for clinical use, following the demonstration by Staub and Bovet in 1937 that this class of compounds, newly developed at that time, protected against allergen-induced anaphylaxis (1). The experimental use of antihistamines in allergic disease was a natural sequel to the suggestion by Dale that histamine was central to immediate anaphylaxis (2) and the demonstrated release of histamine following allergen exposure in vitro (3, 4). The relationship between rhinitis and conjunctivitis symptoms and allergen (grass pollen) exposure in ‘‘hay fever’’ sufferers was established at the end of the 19th century (5).
