In a recent review published in The Lancet , a group of authors explored emerging personalized treatment approaches for chronic urticaria (a persistent skin condition with recurring itchy wheals and swelling lasting over six weeks), emphasizing novel therapies and addressing the limitations of current management guidelines. Study: Chronic urticaria: unmet needs, emerging drugs, and new perspectives on personalised treatment . Image Credit: onstockphoto/Shutterstock.
com Chronic urticaria, lasting over six weeks, presents as wheals and angioedema due to skin mast cell activation. It is either spontaneous, with no specific triggers, or inducible, triggered by stimuli like cold or pressure. This condition is often accompanied by autoimmune and psychiatric disorders, significantly affecting quality of life and imposing economic burdens.
While spontaneous remission occurs in about 50% of cases within five years, many require long-term treatment. Current guidelines recommend second-generation antihistamines, omalizumab, and ciclosporin. However, many patients remain uncontrolled, necessitating further research to develop more effective therapies targeting chronic urticaria's heterogeneous pathophysiology.
Chronic urticaria is divided into spontaneous and inducible types. Nine forms of Chronic Inducible Urticaria (CIU) include symptomatic dermographism, cold urticaria, cholinergic urticaria, delayed pressure urticaria, solar urticaria, heat urticaria, aquagenic urticaria, contact urt.