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No evidence of increased serum substance P levels in chronic urticaria patients with and without demonstrable circulating vasoactive factors
Author(s) -
Tedeschi A.,
Lorini M.,
Asero R.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
clinical and experimental dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.587
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1365-2230
pISSN - 0307-6938
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2230.2005.01732.x
Subject(s) - histamine , substance p , medicine , basophil , immunology , endocrinology , neuropeptide , gastroenterology , immunoglobulin e , receptor , antibody
Summary The neuropeptide substance P is a possible candidate as histamine‐releasing factor in some patients with chronic ordinary urticaria (COU), particularly in those with evidence of a nonautoantibody circulating histamine‐releasing factor. In this study, serum substance P levels were measured by enzyme immunoassay in 117 COU patients, 40 atopic subjects and 24 normal subjects. In vivo and in vitro assays for histamine‐releasing factors, autologous serum skin test (ASST) and basophil histamine release (BHR) assay, respectively, were performed in all COU patients. Mean serum substance P concentration was not significantly different in COU patients and in normal subjects; however, significantly higher levels were detected in atopic subjects than in COU patients ( P < 0.003). ASST and BHR assays allowed us to distinguish different subsets of COU patients. Mean serum substance P concentration did not vary significantly in the different subsets of patients. Nevertheless, interestingly three patients with positive ASST and negative BHR assay showed very high substance P levels. These results suggest that substance P does not play an important role as histamine‐releasing factor in COU in general but only in occasional patients in whom it might act as a trigger of urticarial symptoms.