Definition of Recurrent Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria

Autoimmune Diseases and Low Baseline IgE in Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria: A Clinical and Therapeutic Prospective Analysis in Real-Life Clinical Practice

BACKGROUND

Autoimmunity contributes to the pathogenesis of chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU). The subtyping of CSU has revealed an autoimmune form of CSU. Despite autoimmune diseases having been associated with CSU, there are few prospective studies that have evaluated the characteristics and biomarkers of patients with CSU and autoimmune disease in a real-life practice setting.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the presence of specific biomarkers for the presence of autoimmune disease in CSU and to analyze the clinical and therapeutic features of patients with CSU and autoimmune disease.

METHODS

The clinical, laboratory, and therapeutic features of patients with CSU at a tertiary-level center were prospectively collected. Data obtained were compared in function of the presence/absence of autoimmune disease and typified according to IgE levels.

RESULTS

Patients with CSU who had associated autoimmune disease corresponded to middle-aged women with a common pattern of blood test findings: both low baseline IgE and high-affinity receptor of IgE expression, basopenia, eosinopenia, higher baseline erythrocyte sedimentation rate and D-dimer, increased presence of antinuclear antibodies, IgG against thyroid peroxidase, and positive autologous serum skin test result. Total baseline IgE less than or equal to 43.8 IU/mL was both the optimal cutoff to predict autoimmune disease in the CSU cohort and a significant risk factor for the presence of autoimmune disease in the regression analysis.

CONCLUSIONS

In real-life clinical practice, characteristics of patients with CSU and autoimmune disease share common features with type IIb autoimmune CSU. Total baseline IgE less than or equal to 43.8 IU/mL has been detected as a possible biomarker of autoimmune disease in patients with CSU.

Chronic spontaneous urticaria: Focus on pathophysiology to unlock treatment advances

Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is a debilitating skin disease characterized by intensely itchy wheals, angioedema, or both. Symptoms recur spontaneously, on a near-daily basis, over >6 weeks; many patients experience flare-ups over several years and, consequently, reduced quality of life. Differences between the inflammatory profiles of the skin of CSU patients (wheals and nonlesional sites) and healthy controls indicate that key drivers such as mast cells, eosinophils, and basophils interact, release vasoactive mediators, and prime the skin, leaving patients predisposed to symptoms. Many cytokines and chemokines involved in these inflammatory networks and their corresponding intracellular signaling cascades have been identified. These insights informed the development of therapies such as omalizumab, dupilumab, and Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors, marking a renewed focus on pathogenesis in CSU clinical research. Despite progress, current therapies provide symptomatic control but do not appear to redress the inflammatory balance in the skin permanently. A deeper understanding of CSU pathogenesis will permit a more targeted approach to developing novel treatments with curative intent. Here, we review what is known about the pathogenesis of CSU and consider how this can be used to identify rational targets to improve patient care further.

Predictive features associated with chronic spontaneous urticaria recurrence

When chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is resolved, patients are often apprehensive about the likelihood of recurrence, and want to know if we can predict this using clinical or laboratory markers. This question is crucial because CSU is frequently accompanied by a high incidence of stressful comorbidities, and the fear of experiencing this again can be devastating to the patient. This study was designed with the aim of focusing on the prevalence and characteristics of the recurrence of CSU. We used our CSU patient registry that includes data on 180 patients who are followed periodically. In 23 (13%) patients, CSU was resolved during the first year. In 47 (26%) patients, CSU lasted more than 5 years. The recurrence of CSU was recorded in 21% of our patients after having experienced a full remission anywhere between 1 to 10 years (mean ± 2.9 years). While investigating predictive clinical or laboratory markers, we noticed that bronchial asthma existed in 10/25 (40%) of patients in whom CSU recurred as compared with 45/180 (25%) in the general CSU population (p = 0.049). In addition, increased levels of total immunoglobulin (Ig)E were found in 10/25 (40%) of the recurrence group as compared with 34/150 (23%) of the general CSU group (p = 0.04). Anti-thyroid peroxidase antibodies were also found in 11/25 (44%) of the recurrence group as compared with 32/160 (20%) of the general group (p = 0.003). The prevalence of CSU recurrence after a full remission is significantly higher among patients with existing bronchial asthma, increased levels of total IgE, and autoimmunity. Further studies are required in order to substantiate this important issue.