Handbook of Immunological Investigations in Children

Immunology is often presented as an obscure and complex basic science with little direct application to clinical medicine. Nevertheless in the last 20 years a large number of observations and investigations derived from basic understanding have greatly contributed to understanding the pathogenesis of a wide range of diseases. Clinical immunology has become an established investigational speciality and laboratory services are now established in most hospital regions. The increasing complexity and sensitivity of laboratory investigations, particularly in cellular immunology and the use of monoclonal antibodies, has allowed ever more specific cellular immunohistology, the definition of selective abnormalities of cell membranes, and even smaller quantities of free or tissue-fixed antibody and antigen to be identified. It is inevitable, that with the emergence of more effective immunosuppressive agents and the development of cloned cytokines with potent influences on immune responses, that immunology will enter a new and exciting therapeutic era.