Antihistamines

Abstract

The discovery of histamine, its physiological role and reversal of its pharmacological effects by antihistamines takes us on a journey through the origins of modern physiology and the rising understanding of pharmacology at the end of the 19th and the early part of the 20th centuries. This journey, which has been traced in the excellent historical review by Michael Emanuel [Clin Exp Allergy 1999;29:1-11], is populated by some of the greatest scientists of the era, including six Nobel laureates - Bovet, Dale, Ehrlich, Richet, Windaus and Black. In addition, it laid the basis of medicinal chemistry not only for antihistamines, but also for the discovery of a plethora of drugs still in use today.