IMPORTANCE Omalizumab has emerged as a novel and effective treatment option for patients with antihistamine-resistant chronic urticaria. It is unclear whether patients with recurrent urticaria symptoms after discontinuation of omalizumab treatment can benefit from retreatment. OBJECTIVE To assess the response of patients with chronic urticaria who receive omalizumab retreatment. DESIGN, SET...

: Chronic urticaria is a skin disorder characterized by transient pruritic weals that recur from day to day for 6 weeks or more. It has a great impact on patients' quality of life. In spite of this prevalence and morbidity, we are only beginning to understand its physiopathology and we do not have a curative treatment. Moreover, a patient with chronic urticaria may undergo extensive laboratory ...

Systemic sclerosis (SS) and dermatomyositis (DM) are both multisystem disorders and share some common clinical features. We report here an 11 year-old girl whose disease showed a changing clinical pattern from juvenile systemic sclerosis (JSS) to slowly progressing juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) and had associated generalized morphea. Serological studies revealed antinuclear antibodies (ANA) wi...

BACKGROUND The clinical implications of autoimmune testing in chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU) are not well established. OBJECTIVE To identify the association of autoimmune biomarkers in CIU with disease severity. METHODS We retrospectively evaluated 195 patients with a diagnosis of CIU for the presence of antinuclear antibody (ANA), anti-thyroglobulin antibody (ATG), anti-thyroperoxidase...

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in satisfaction with life and coping strategies between patients with acute and chronic urticaria. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Sixty patients with urticaria were divided into 2 groups after 6 weeks of standardized dermatology treatment (33 patients with acute and 27 patients with chronic urticaria). At baseline, all patients answere...

Chronic urticaria is a common condition that can be very disabling when severe. A variety of causes has been reported to induce urticaria, including food, infections, drugs and other factors. In more than 50% of cases of chronic urticaria, however, the cause remains unknown and cannot be ascribed to allergic, physical, environmental or other factors. Although an association between chronic idio...

OBJECTIVES To investigate the correlation between the clinical characteristics of chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU) and the results of autologous serum skin test (ASST). METHODS This prospective observational study was performed in the Motahari Allergy Clinic and included 69 patients referred to the clinic with a diagnosis of CIU. ASSTs were performed on all patients. We compared the disease...

BACKGROUND The indirect basophil activation test using flow cytometry is a promising tool for autoimmune urticaria diagnosis. We aimed to identify better donor basophils (from atopic vs. non-atopic donors and interleukin-3 primed vs. unprimed basophils) and improve basophil identification and activation markers (eotaxin CC chemokine receptor-3 [CCR3] vs. CD123 and CD63 vs. CD203c). METHODS Do...

Chronic urticaria (CU) is a common condition faced by the practicing allergist. There is a considerable degree of variation in the evaluation of patients with CU. The intent of this article is to provide the practicing allergist with an appropriate, evidence-based strategy for diagnosis and initial management of patients with CU. A review was performed of pertinent literature of CU pertaining t...

Background: The immunologic profile of chronic urticaria is not only important for diagnostic purposes, but also for therapeutic approaches. This study evaluated the serum levels of Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Tumor Necrosis Factor-α (TNF-α) and Interferon-ϒ (IFN-ϒ) in patients with chronic urticaria to find a biomarker.Materials and Methods: Forty-one patients with chronic urticaria referring to the...