Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0042109 (urticaria)
 6,569 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Allergic disease is an increasing problem worldwide. Allergic rhinitis, an inflammatory response to an allergen, affects an estimated 20-40 million people in the US, while chronic idiopathic urticaria is a dermatoallergic condition that affects 0.1-3% of people in the US and Europe. The primary goals of treatment for allergic rhinitis are to reduce symptoms, which include sneezing, rhinorrhoea and nasal congestion, improve quality of life and prevent the sequelae associated with this disease, while the goal for chronic idiopathic urticaria is the rapid and prolonged control of symptoms. Quantitatively, histamine is the most abundant mediator present during an allergic episode - thus, antihistamines (historically called histamine H(1) receptor antagonists, now called H(1) receptor inverse agonists) are a first-line defense against allergic rhinitis and chronic idiopathic urticaria. Although first-generation antihistamines can cause sedation and cognitive impairment, second-generation antihistamines are relatively non-sedating and free of such adverse events owing to their comparative inability to penetrate the blood-brain barrier. Desloratadine is one such second-generation antihistamine and is indicated for the treatment of allergic diseases, including allergic rhinitis and chronic idiopathic urticaria. It has proven efficacy against the symptoms associated with seasonal and perennial allergic rhinitis, including nasal congestion, and chronic idiopathic urticaria. As a result, it has been shown to improve patients' quality of life. The safety and efficacy profiles of desloratadine are well established, and published postmarketing analyses have assessed >54 000 patients. Although earlier second-generation antihistamines have been associated with cardiovascular adverse effects, desloratadine has been shown to be safe and well tolerated at nine times the recommended dose. In addition, it has been shown to not interact with concomitantly administered drugs and food. Overall, current data indicate that desloratadine is a safe and effective treatment for allergic diseases.
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PMID:The safety and efficacy of desloratadine for the management of allergic disease. 1632 13

A 20-year-old man with mental impairment, was referred to us for evaluation of recurring idiopathic urticaria episodes, characterized by a diffuse spreading of wheals and severe itching lacking response to traditional antihistamines. Upon physical examination, he showed a persistent, generalized, reticular, red-bluish vascular skin pattern in association with diffuse arborizing telangiectasias. Such lesions were present from an early age. Laboratory and instrumental tests, performed in order to exclude any condition associated with livedo did not evidence pathological results. He was found to be positive for antinuclear autoantibodies (ANA; 1:640). Histopathologically, numerous dilated capillary vessels associated with sparse extravasated erythrocytes were observed in the upper dermis. We performed an autologous serum skin test (ASST), which resulted in a positive, suggesting an autoimmune basis of the condition. On the basis of clinical and histopathological findings, and in the absence of other clinical and laboratory data suggesting other neoplastic, immunological or systemic diseases, the diagnosis of cutis marmorata telangiectatica congenita (CMTC) associated with chronic autoimmune urticaria (CAIU) was made. CMTC is a rare congenital vascular disorder, consisting in an anomalous, persistent, red-bluish marbling of the skin, that can be associated with a wide spectrum of cutaneous and extracutaneous anomalies. In our case, neither physical examination nor instrumental investigation demonstrated any of these anomalies, with the exception of cognitive impairment. We report this case because of the rarity of a diagnosis of CMTC in an adult patient, because this condition has almost always previously been diagnosed in infancy, or it comes to observation because of the presence of associated disorders, as in our case for chronic urticaria.
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PMID:Cutis marmorata telangiectatica congenita and chronic autoimmune urticaria in a young man. 1729 5