The role played by dietary chemical factors in the pathogenesis of chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU) was assessed in seventy-six patients by challenge Stable remission was first established by using an empirically established 'exclusion diet'. A diet modified to exclude those chemicals giving a positive response to challlenge was demonstrated to be of therapeutic value for time periods of up t...

Treatment of recalcitrant psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis can be challenging, with treatment options limited by drug intolerance or poor efficacy. High-dose intravenous immunoglobulin (hdIVIg) has been used successfully in Kawasaki's disease and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, where it has become the standard treatment. The literature also suggests its positive effect in the treatment of...

Results 20 patients were treated with Sulfasalazine as adjunctive therapy and 1 patient was lost to follow up. The patient’s ages ranged between 27-75 years with a mean of 48 years and 10 (50%) were female. IgE receptor antibody status was determined in 12 patients and 6 patients were positive. Out of the 19 patients who are still being followed, 10(52.6%) failed to respond to the Sulfasalazine...

BACKGROUND The pathophysiology of chronic idiopathic (spontaneous) urticaria (CIU) is poorly understood. OBJECTIVE We hypothesized that a study of gene expression in active lesions from patients with CIU would uncover unexpected associations. METHODS We enrolled eight patients with CIU and six healthy controls, and obtained 4 mm punch biopsy specimens of active lesions and unaffected skin o...

A previously healthy 8-year old boy was seen for a second opinion regarding a 1-year history of urticaria. The initial onset of generalized urticaria was noted 30 minutes after a dose of fexofenadine for seasonal allergy symptoms. He had tolerated fexofenadine in previous pollen seasons without any complications. Since onset, he has had daily generalized urticaria. After 2 months of symptoms de...

Introduction Chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU) is a condition in which histamine is constantly released from activated mastocytes and basophiles. A low degranulation threshold of mastocytes in response to different stimuli is described. Diamin oxidase defficiency can be found in patients with CIU. In children with CIU foods and drugs that interact with histamine metabolism can cause pseudoalle...

Background: Urticaria is a common skin disease characterized by transient and itchy swelling. The spectrum of etiologic factors in urticaria is very wide and contains external factors such as drugs, foods and internal diseases such as infections, SLE, hormonal factors and even lymphoma. Objective: To determine different kinds of urticaria and different etiologic and prevocational factors in pat...

BACKGROUND Chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU) is a complicated skin disease with unknown pathophysiology. MicroRNAs (miRNA) have been shown to be active in cellular regulation. The goal of this pilot study was to examine whether miRNAs may be involved in the regulation of CIU or as biomarkers for CIU. METHODS Four groups of three patients each were selected: patients with either active hives ...

BACKGROUND The clinical implications of autoimmune testing in chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU) are not well established. OBJECTIVE To identify the association of autoimmune biomarkers in CIU with disease severity. METHODS We retrospectively evaluated 195 patients with a diagnosis of CIU for the presence of antinuclear antibody (ANA), anti-thyroglobulin antibody (ATG), anti-thyroperoxidase...