Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2019 Jul;11(4):470-481.
doi: 10.4168/aair.2019.11.4.470.

Emerging Therapies in Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria

Taek Ki Min  1 , Sarbjit S Saini  2
Affiliations
Review

Emerging Therapies in Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria

Taek Ki Min et al. Allergy Asthma Immunol Res. 2019 Jul.

Abstract

Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is characterized by typically short-lived and fleeting wheals, angioedema or both, which occur spontaneously and persist for longer than 6 weeks. This term is applied to the most common subtype of chronic urticaria. The underlying pathophysiology for CSU involves mast cell and basophil degranulation with release of histamine, leukotrienes, prostaglandins and other inflammatory mediators. Although a variety of treatments exist, many patients do not tolerate or benefit from the existing therapies and even require more effective treatments. Omalizumab is currently the only licensed biologic for antihistamine-refractory CSU, and novel drugs are under development. This article reviews its current status regarding pathogenesis and approach to treatment as well as therapeutic agents that are under development for the treatment of CSU.

Keywords: Chronic urticaria; biologics; pathophysiology.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

There are no financial or other issues that might lead to conflict of interest. Sarbjit S. Saini has been supported by grant from National Institutes of Health, ITN, Novartis, Regeneron, Genentech. Genentech, Novartis, Medimmune, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Allakos, Eli Lily, GossamerBio had roles of Consultant/Advisory Boards of this study.

References

    1. Zuberbier T, Aberer W, Asero R, Abdul Latiff AH, Baker D, Ballmer-Weber B, et al. The EAACI/GA2LEN/EDF/WAO guideline for the definition, classification, diagnosis and management of urticaria. Allergy. 2018;73:1393–1414. - PubMed
    1. Balp MM, Vietri J, Tian H, Isherwood G. The impact of chronic urticaria from the patient's perspective: a survey in five European countries. Patient. 2015;8:551–558. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Zuberbier T, Balke M, Worm M, Edenharter G, Maurer M. Epidemiology of urticaria: a representative cross-sectional population survey. Clin Exp Dermatol. 2010;35:869–873. - PubMed
    1. Lapi F, Cassano N, Pegoraro V, Cataldo N, Heiman F, Cricelli I, et al. Epidemiology of chronic spontaneous urticaria: results from a nationwide, population-based study in Italy. Br J Dermatol. 2016;174:996–1004. - PubMed
    1. Lee N, Lee JD, Lee HY, Kang DR, Ye YM. Epidemiology of chronic urticaria in Korea using the Korean Health Insurance Database, 2010–2014. Allergy Asthma Immunol Res. 2017;9:438–445. - PMC - PubMed