BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE There seems to be a strong causal relationship between allergy and the origins of asthma. Susceptibility to both is determined by a combination of genetics and environment acting through a complex network of cytokines. Nearly 90% of affected children have positive skin tests indicating the presence of specific immunoglobulin E (IgE), with sensitivity to house dust mite,...

BACKGROUND Using a monoclonal antibody with greater affinity for IgE than omalizumab, we examined whether more complete suppression of IgE provided greater pharmacodynamic effects, including suppression of skin prick responses to allergen. OBJECTIVE To explore the pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and safety of QGE031 (ligelizumab), a novel high-affinity humanized monoclonal IgG1κ anti-IgE. ...

269 Refractory Chronic Urticaria Treated with Omalizumab Martinez Saenz, NP, Ramírez Del Pozo, ME, Lopez Tiro JJ, and Javier Gomez Vera, MD. Alergia e inmunologia clínica, Hospital Regional Lic. Adolfo Lopez Mateos, Distrito Federal, Mexico. Background: Chronic urticaria (CU) is a common disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of urticaria pruritic erythematous lesions, associated with ang...

Urticarial vasculitis is characterised by inflamed itching or burning red patches or wheals that resemble urticaria but persist for greater than 24 hours. It is often idiopathic but is sometimes associated with collagen-vascular disease, particularly systemic lupus erythematosus. Treatment options include oral antihistamines, oral corticosteroids, dapsone, colchicine or hydroxychloroquine. We d...

Chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU) is a common autoimmune skin condition characterized by spontaneously recurring hives for 6 weeks or longer. The new terminology used for CIU in most countries including Canada is chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU). CSU is associated with significant psychosocial morbidity with a markedly negative impact on overall quality of life. Conventional approaches with...

BACKGROUND Allergic asthma is a long-term disorder of the airways resulting from overexpression of immunoglobulin E (IgE) in response to environmental allergens. Patients with poorly controlled asthma are at high risk of exacerbations requiring additional treatment, including hospitalisations. Severe exacerbations are potentially life threatening. Guidelines identify five treatment steps for bo...

Background Treatment of chronic urticaria consists of antihistamines as the first-line treatment. For more severe symptoms, combinations can be necessary as well as dose augmentations. The recent guidelines suggest the possibility of using omalizumab in resistant cases. We treated 2 patients with cold-urticaria (CO), 1 with cholinergic urticaria(CH) and 11 with chronic spontaneous urticaria (CS...

If an anaphylaxis episode is not caused by an identifiable trigger, it is defined as idiopathic anaphylaxis. Although it is rarely observed, idiopathic anaphylaxis is clinically significant because of its morbidity and fatality risk. No effective treatment has been demonstrated to date. We report a girl aged 16 years who had had malignant idiopathic anaphylaxis since the age of 12 years who was...

Background: Rush immunotherapy (RIT) presents an attractive alternative to standard immunotherapy. However, RIT carries a much greater risk of acute allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis. Objectives: We hypothesized that omalizumab, a humanized monoclonal anti-IgE antibody, would be effective in enhancing both safety and efficacy of RIT. Methods: Adult patients with ragweed allergic rhiniti...

UNLABELLED Omalizumab is an anti-IgE monoclonal antibody available since 2006 for the treatment of GINA step 4 asthma. We studied a 41-year old male who has been suffering from severe steroid-resistant asthma with severe co-morbidity and treated with Omalizumab. He was found to be non-responder to the treatment until the 48th week, starting from which we began to see a distinct improvement in t...