Evidence has been presented to indicate that atopic disease is not limited to man but occurs in subhuman primates. The genetic transmission of allergy may relate to altered membrane permeability or an enzymatic defect, with inability to handle certain N-glycosidic protein-sugar linkages occurring in the atopens of nature. The suggestion that an infectious agent transmits allergic disease has been examined. Finally, in vitro and animal experimental models of anaphylaxis closely akin to atopy and the effects of manipulation of the autonomic nervous system in laboratory animals and man have been discussed
