[The histamine-release test, a new in-vitro method in the diagnosis of allergic diseases (author's transl)].

Liberation of histamine from autologous basophils after stimulation with antihuman IgE and various allergen solutions was measured, in part by autoanalyser, in 47 patients with allergic bronchial asthma or allergic rhinitis. Three patients were non-responders: there was no histamine release after stimulation. In the other patients, both antihuman IgE and the allergen solutions produced a definite histamine release, in such a way that at higher concentrations there occurred an inhibitory effect with both antihuman IgE and the antigen mixture. But this effect disappeared with increasing dilution, giving a bell-like dose-response curve. The test is thus of value also in the diagnosis of allergic conditions.