Progresses in allergy in 2009 were particularly noticeable in the field of diagnosis with an increased use of recombinant food allergens; tolerance induction protocols, in particular for egg and milk allergy show promising results for the future; and interesting new possibilities for treatment of mastocytosis with anti-IgE antibodies are reported. Clinical immunology has witnessed advances along two main axes. The first aiming at defining new efficacious therapeutic strategies less toxic compared to those currently in use to control SLE and ANCA-related vasculitis. The second highlights a novel response index appears to be a major advancement toward our understanding of SLE.