SELECTED ARTICLES FROM THE RECENT LITERATURE 2005

9/30/05

Chronic urticaria (CU) is less common in children than in adults with the cause often not detected.

Summary
Background - Chronic urticaria (CU) is less common in children than in adults with the cause often not detected.

Findings - Caminiti et al of the Univ of Messina in Italy carried out a case-control study of 79 children/adolescents with severe CU of at least 6 weeks duration compared to 2545 age-matched normal controls. They found increased levels of anti-endomysial and/or anti-transglutaminase antibodies in 4 of the CU patients (5.0%) or compared to the incidence of such antibodies in 0.67% of normal controls. The presence of celiac disease was confirmed by endoscopic biopsy in the 4 antibody-positive CU patients. In these patients, institution of the a gluten-free diet was followed by remission of the urticaria within 5-10 weeks.

Reference
Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2005;16:428-32

Editor's Comments
These intriguing findings suggest that a small percentage of "idiopathic" CU in children may be associated with celiac disease. It appears that G-I manifestations were not apparent in the 4 affected children. However, a gluten-free diet led to improvement in the CU. With the recognition that adult-onset celiac disease is not rare, perhaps adults with CU should undergo similar investigation.

 

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