BACKGROUND There is appreciable utilisation of antihistamines (H1) in European countries, either prescribed by physician and purchased by patients for self-medication. Terfenadine and astemizole underwent regulatory restrictions in '90 because of their cardiac toxicity, but only scarce clinical data are available on other antihistamines. AIM To investigate the pro-arrhythmic potential of anti...

creasing providing a rapidly expanding market for antiallergic drugs. The first generation anti-histamines penetrate the blood brain barrier and also possess anticholinergic properties and this has led to the development of a second generation of H1-antagonists such as terfenadine and astemizole. A common feature of first generation compounds includes two aryl or heteroaryl rings linked to an a...

BACKGROUND The guidelines recommend that first line treatment of chronic spontaneous urticaria should be second generation non-sedating H(1)-antihistamines with a positive recommendation against the use of old sedating first generation antihistamines. If standard dosing is not effective, increasing the dosage up to four-fold is recommended. The objective of this study was to obtain the chronic ...

Histamine is a key mediator in allergic diseases, where it exerts most of its effects through the H1 receptor and to a less extent the H2 receptor. H1antihistamines provide rapid relief of many of the allergic symptoms and are considered the main stay of treatment of allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and urticaria. H1 antihistamines comprise first generation (old) and second generation (new) H 1 ant...

Histamine is a mediator, which increases the permeability of capillaries during the early phase of allergic reaction, causes smooth muscle contraction of bronchi and stimulates mucous glands in the nasal cavity. Antihistamines are the basis of symptomatic treatment in the majority of allergic diseases, especially allergic rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis, urticaria and anaphylaxis. The cardiot...

Behavioural changes are produced by any drug that enters the central nervous system. These psychoactive effects include changes in alertness, concentration, attention, memory, cognition, psychomotor accuracy, skilled performance and affect. Changes in psychological performance may affect the safety of both the individuals taking the drug and of those people coming into contact with them. The ai...

QUESTION Many of my pregnant and breastfeeding patients suffer from allergies and frequently ask me about the safety of antihistamines during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Should I advise them to use the older sedating medications? I have heard that they might be safer than the newer nonsedating class of drugs. Or have the newer ones been studied as well? ANSWER First-generation antihistamines...

Nonsedating antihistamines are the fi rst-choice treatment for all forms of urticaria. In patients with recalcitrant urticaria who do not respond to conventional doses of antihistamines, current guidelines recommend increasing doses by up to 4 times in order to obtain better control of the disease. Although few studies have been conducted, there are convincing data from controlled trials for ce...

BACKGROUND Single premedication with antihistamines for radiocontrast media (RCM) hypersensitivity is frequently used in real world at the emergent situation although its efficacy is not proven. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of intravenous antihistamines as a premedication in general population who had experience of mild adverse reactions to iodinated RCM. METHODS A retrospective observa...