Chronic skin ulcer (CSU), including diabetic ulcers, venous ulcers, radiation ulcers, and pressure ulcers, remains a great challenge in the clinic. CSU seriously affects the quality of life of patients and requires long-term dedicated care, causing immense socioeconomic costs. CSU can cause the loss of the integrity of large portions of the skin, even leading to morbidity and mortality. Chinese...

BACKGROUND The precise pathogenesis of chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) remains unknown. However, an important association between CSU and autoimmune disorders such as Hashimoto's disease (HD) has been reported. We investigated the frequency of HD as a comorbidity of CSU and the prevalence rate of autoreactivity among CSU patients with HD. PATIENTS AND METHODS The presence of thyroid autoa...

BACKGROUND The platelet parameters and C-reactive protein (CRP) are markers reflecting a systemic inflammatory response. Among those, CRP is one of the major proteins helpful in determination of severity/activity of chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU). AIM To determine relationships between platelet activation indices and serum concentration of CRP, the best marker of acute phase response, an...

There was no previous population-based study on the comparison of the risk of chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) between autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITD) and age- and gender-matched controls. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the risk of CSU after diagnosis of AITD using national registry data from Korea. The secondary objective was to evaluate other risk factors of CSU. Ba...

BACKGROUND Up-regulation of interleukin 17 (IL-17) family cytokines and acute phase response have been observed in patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU). It has been demonstrated that IL-17 stimulates C-reactive protein (CRP) expression. AIM To determine relationship between circulating concentrations of IL-17 and CRP in CSU. METHODS Concentrations of IL-17 in plasma and CRP in ...

BACKGROUND Treat-to-target therapy approaches are established for chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and more recently rheumatoid arthritis, resulting in improved patient outcomes. These approaches do not use patient reported outcomes (PRO) as targets of therapy. Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU), also called chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU), is defined as recurrent urticaria ...

Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is a complex idiopathic disease of the skin with various cellular infiltrations. Although mast cells are key effector cells in the pathogenesis of CSU, CD4+ T helper 2 cells also have particular roles in the development and maintenance of CSU. Periostin is known as a downstream molecule of interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-13, key cytokines of type 2 immune responses...

Efforts to improve science education include university science departments hiring Science Faculty with Education Specialties (SFES), scientists who take on specialized roles in science education within their discipline. Although these positions have existed for decades and may be growing more common, few reports have investigated the SFES approach to improving science education. We present com...

BACKGROUND Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a powerful enhancer of vascular permeability and inflammatory response; however its significance in chronic urticaria is poorly recognised. AIM To compare free circulating levels of VEGF and its soluble receptors (sVEGFR1 and VEGFR2) in patients with different forms of chronic urticaria. METHODS The concentrations of VEGF and its recep...

BACKGROUND Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is a common problem worldwide. We evaluated the direct medical costs of treating patients with refractory CSU and the budget effect of omalizumab use in these patients in Kuwait. METHODS The prevalence of CSU was estimated using the Delphi method. Medical records of patients with refractory CSU in Kuwait were reviewed. Costs were calculated from ...