Human in vivo cutaneous microdialysis: estimation of histamine release in cold urticaria

A novel bioanalytical in vivo sampling technique, cutaneous microdialysis, was used to follow the chronology of skin histamine release in 3 patients with cold urticaria and in 2 healthy volunteers. Laser Doppler perfusion imaging was used simultaneously to monitor the skin circulatory response. Microdialysis samples were collected at 10-min intervals and analysed by radioimmunoassay technique. Fifty minutes after probe insertion, the ventral forearm skin in the area of the dialysis membrane was provoked for 5-15 min with a 25 x 40 mm ice cube covered with plastic foil. In the cold urticaria patients, an up to 80-fold increase of histamine was observed, with peak levels 20-30 min after challenge. Histamine levels then fell to reach "baseline" levels within 50 min. In the healthy subjects, the histamine increase was earlier, less pronounced and of shorter duration. Cutaneous microdialysis and laser Doppler imaging offer new possibilities for the chronological multiparameter assessment of inflammatory skin disorders in vivo.