Urticaria and the role of antihistamines in pruritus
Keywords:
Urticaria, antihistaminesAbstract
Urticaria is a group of reactive disorders of heterogeneous etiology. It can be immunologic or non-immunologic in pathogenesis. Amongst the idiopathic group, autoimmunity may be incriminated where anti-FcεIgE IgG are produced. Histamine, kinins, and eicosanoids are the major inflammatory mediators. Urticaria remains a therapeutic challenge for dermatologists. In spite of recent advancements in the etiopathogenesis and pharmacotherapy, antihistamines still remain the pivotal treatment. The review highlights the role of antihistamines in the management of urticaria,References
Rook AJ. The historical background. In: Warin RP, Champion RH, eds. Urticaria, 1st edn. London: Saunders; 1974. p. 1-2.
Czarnetzki BM. The history of urticaria. Int J Dermatol 1989; 28: 52-7.
Peters MS, Winkelmann RK. Neutrophilic urticaria. Br J Dermatol 1985; 113: 25-30.
Winkelmann RK, Wilson-Jones E, Smith NP et al. Neutrophilic urticaria. Acta Derm Venereol 1988; 68: 129-33.
Beaven MA. Histamine. New Engl J Med 1976; 294: 320-5.
Asad SI, Kemenn DM, Youlten LJF et al .Effect of aspirin in “aspirin sensitive†patients. Br Med J 1984; 288: 145-6.
Quaranta J, Rohr AS, Rachelefsky GS et al. The etiology and natural history of chronic urticaria and angioedema. J Allergy Clin Immunol 1987; 79: 182-7.
Ferrer M, Kinet J-P, Kaplan AP. Comparative studies of functional and binding assays for IgG Anti-FceR1a in chronic urticaria. J Allergy Clin Immunol 1998; 101: 672-6.
Parish WE. Clinical immunology and allergy. In: Champion RH, Burton JL, Ebling FJG, eds. Textbook of dermatology. London: Blackwell Scientific Publications; 1992. p. 253-304.
Sabroe RA, Grattan CEH, Francis DM et al. The Autologous serum skin test: a screening skin test for autoantibodies in chronic idiopathic urticaria. Br J Dermatol 1999; 140: 446-52.
Brunet C, Bedard PM, Hebert J. Analysis of compound 48/80-induced skin histamine release and leukotriene production in chronic urticaria. J Allergy Clin Immunol 1988; 82: 398-402.
Wood SM, Mann RD, Rawlins MM. Angio-oedema and urticaria associated with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. Br Med J 1987; 294; 91-3.
Beall GN. Urticaria: a review of laboratory and clinical observations. Medicine 1964; 43: 131-51.
Illig L. Physical urticaria, its diagnosis and treatment. Curr Probl Dermatol 1973; 5: 79-116.
Krogh G von, Maibach HI. The contact urticaria syndrome – an updated review. J Am Acad Dermatol 1981; 5: 328-42.
Lahti A. Non-immunologic contact urticaria. Acta Derm Venereol 1980; 60 Suppl. 91): 1-49.
Sanchez NP, Winkelmann RK, Schroeter AR et al. The clinical and histopathologic spectrums of urticarial vasculitis: study of forty cases. J Am Acad Dermatol 1982; 7: 599-605.
Kobza Black A, Lawlor F, Greaves MW. Consensus meeting on definition of physical urticarias and urticarial vasculitis. Clin Exp Dermatol 1996; 21: 424-6.
Donaldson VH, Evans RR. A biochemical abnormality in hereditary angioedema. Am J Med 1963; 35: 37-44.
Kobza Black A. The urticarias. In: Greaves MW, Shuster S, eds. The pharmacology of the skin. Berlin: Springer-Verlag; 1989.
Pollock I, Young E, Stoneham M et al. Survey of colourings and preservatives in drugs. Br Med J 1989; 299: 649-51.
Greaves MW. Antihistamine treatment: a patient self-assessment method in chronic urticaria. Br Med J 1981; 283: 1435-6.
Faber TS, Zehender M, Just H. Drug-induced torsades de pointes. Incidence, management and prevention. Drugs 1994; 11: 463-76.
Lader M, Petursson H. Rational use of anxiolytic/sedative drugs. Drugs Saf 1983; 25: 514-28.
Monroe EW, Cohen SH, Kalbfleisch J, Schulz CI. Combined H1 and H2 antihistamine therapy in chronic urticaria. Arch Dermatol 1981; 117: 404-5.
Fairley JA, Pentland AP, Voorhees JJ. Urticaria pigmentosa responsive to nifedipine. J Am Acad Dermatol 1984; 11: 740-1.
Weston WL, Hogan PA. Vascular reactions. In: Schachner LA, Hansen RC, eds. Pediatric dermatology. New York: Churchill Livingstone; 1996. p. 915-52.
Grattan CEH, O’Donnell BF, Francis DM et al. Randomized double-blind study of cyclosporin A in chronic idiopathic urticaria. Br J Dermatol 2000; 148: 365-72.
Gelfand JA, Sherins RJ, Alling VW et al. Treatment of hereditary angioedema with danazol. New Engl J Med 1976; 295: 1444-7.
Donaldson VH. The challenge of hereditary angioneurotic edema. New Engl J Med 1983; 308: 1094-5.
