BACKGROUND The pathogenesis of chronic spontaneous urticaria involves interplay between the genetic and environmental factors, most of which is still poorly understood. It is well-recognized that 30-40% of chronic spontaneous urticaria is autoimmune in nature. Chronic autoimmune urticaria is caused by anti-FcɛR1β and less frequently, by anti-IgE auto antibodies that lead to mast cell and basoph...

BACKGROUND Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is associated with considerable burden, but data from European patients are limited. METHODS This study is a retrospective, cross-sectional analysis of National Health and Wellness Survey data from the five largest EU countries (5EU: France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK) collected between 2010 and 2013. Burden of disease for patients with CS...

The pathogenesis of chronic urticaria is not well delineated and the treatment is palliative as it is not tied to the pathomechanism. The centrality of mast cells and their inappropriate activation and degranulation as the key pathophysiological event are well established. The triggering stimuli and the complexity of effector mechanisms remain speculative. Autoimmune origin of chronic urticaria...

Inducible urticaria is a heterogeneous subgroup of chronic urticarias caused by a wide variety of environmental stimuli, such as exercise, cold, heat, pressure, sunlight, vibration, and water. A new term, follicular traction urticaria, was suggested as an unusual form of inducible urticarias. We report a patient who was diagnosed with follicular traction urticaria.

A previous report of two similar cases of urticaria controlled by warfarin did not include a placebo challenge.' Our case differed from those cases in that we had to keep the prothrombin time within the therapeutic range. The mechanism of this response to warfarin is obscure, but there may be a link between urticaria and the coagulation system.2-5 Ryan proposed that plasmin may contribute to ur...

The term “chronic idiopathic urticaria” denotes a spectrum of conditions with different poorly understood pathogenetic mechanisms in which the release of histamine plays a role. Nonsedating second-generation H1 antihistamines are postulated to be the first line of treatment of chronic idiopathic urticaria by national and international guidelines, but as control is not always achievable with the...