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Urticaria and autoimmunity: where are we now?
Jenny M Stitt1, Stephen C Dreskin
1Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, University of Colorado Denver, Campus Box B164, Research Complex 2, Room 10002, 2700 E. 19th Ave., Aurora, CO, 80045, USA, jenny.stitt@ucdenver.edu.
Current Allergy and Asthma Reports
|July 4, 2013
Summary
Chronic urticaria
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Dermatology
Background:
- Chronic urticaria (CU) presents features suggestive of autoimmunity, but definitive proof is lacking.
- The autoimmune or epiphenomenal nature of CU remains a significant debate in clinical practice.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the current evidence regarding the autoimmune basis of chronic urticaria.
- To discuss the limitations of existing diagnostic methods for autoimmune urticaria.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on chronic urticaria and autoimmunity.
- Analysis of diagnostic tests including autologous serum skin test, basophil histamine release, and basophil activation test.
Main Results:
- Circumstantial evidence supports an autoimmune etiology for chronic urticaria.
- Current diagnostic tests for autoimmunity in CU have limited predictive value for clinical course and treatment efficacy.
Conclusions:
- Establishing autoimmunity in chronic urticaria requires more direct and indirect evidence.
- Further research and refined diagnostic guidelines are necessary for autoimmune urticaria.
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