Abstract
Urticaria affects individuals of all ages and is commonplace. Nearly 1 in 5 individuals will experience an episode of urticaria in their lifetime, while the chronic form of disease has an estimated annual prevalence of approximately 1% of the population. Given the similarity of chronic urticaria symptoms to those seen in patients suffering an allergic reaction, the condition often leads to a search for an external cause. In most cases, no external trigger factor is identified. At present several theories of pathogenesis exist, none of which is firmly established.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 33-52 |
Number of pages | 20 |
Journal | Immunology and Allergy Clinics of North America |
Volume | 34 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Feb 1 2014 |
Keywords
- Basophils
- Chronic urticaria
- Mast cells
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Immunology and Allergy
- Immunology