Bay Biosciences provides high quality, clinical grade bio-specimens, matched serum, plasma and PBMC samples from patients diagnosed with chronic urticaria.
The K2EDTA plasma and PBMC bio-fluid specimens are processed from patient’s peripheral whole-blood using customized collection and processing protocols.
Chronic Urticaria Overview
Urticaria is the medical term for hives. These are itchy raised bumps or welts on your skin. Your dermatologist may call them wheals.
When hives appear and reappear over the course of 6 weeks or more, they’re considered chronic. And when the cause is unknown, they’re called idiopathic.
Hives can be very uncomfortable, interfering with sleep and normal daily activity.
Before classifying hives as idiopathic, your doctor will check for the presence of an allergy, autoimmunity, , or infection. If none of these is the cause, it may be idiopathic urticaria. About 75 percent of cases of hives are idiopathic.
Chronic hives don’t pose an immediate risk. But the sudden appearance of hives can be a sign of an allergic reaction that could lead to anaphylactic shock. This serious condition can close off the throat and lead to strangulation. Use an EpiPen (a device that injects epinephrine) if you have one, and seek emergency care right away if this happens to you.
Symptoms of Chronic Urticaria
Symptoms of chronic idiopathic urticaria include the following:
- Itching that is sometimes severe
- Raised or swollen welts on your skin (hives or wheals) that appear and reappear over the course of 6 weeks
- Swelling of the lips, eyelids, or throat (angioedema)
Your hives may change size, fade, and reappear. Heat, exercise, or stress may aggravate your symptoms.
Causes of Chronic Urticaria
Chronic idiopathic urticaria isn’t an allergy and isn’t contagious. It’s probably caused by a combination of factors.
These may include environmental irritants, your immune system, and genetics. It can also be a response to a bacterial, fungal, or viral infection.
Chronic idiopathic urticaria involves activation of your immune response system. It also affects your nerve hormones and the clotting processes in your blood.
Sometimes there is no clear reason why hives occur. However, they can develop as a reaction to the following:
Allergens
Hives can develop when the body reacts to an allergen. When an allergic reaction occurs, the body releases a protein known as histamine. Next, tiny blood vessels called capillaries leak fluid. This fluid accumulates in the skin and causes inflammation and a rash. As fluid accumulates under the skin, small bumps form.
The reaction can occur if a person consumes something or touches something that they have an allergy to. This is known as “contact urticaria.”
If acute hives results from an allergic reaction, the cause may be:
- a medication, such as:
- Certain antibiotics
- Some nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as aspirin
- Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, which are drugs for high blood pressure
- Nuts, eggs, seafood, or another food allergen
- Latex
- Kiwi, banana, chestnuts, or mango, in people with a latex allergy
- some plants, including nettles, poison ivy, and poison oak
- additives in some foods, cosmetics, and other products
Physical Triggers
A physical trigger other than an allergen can cause hives. Here are some possible triggers:
- Adrenalin, which the body releases during exercise and exposure to heat or stress
- A high body temperature, due to sweating, exercise, anxiety, or a hot shower
- Extreme temperatures or changes in temperature
- Pressure, from a tight belt, for example
- Sunlight exposure
- Scratching or rubbing the skin
- Vibration, in rare cases
- UV light from a tanning bed
- Water on the skin, in rare cases
Underlying Health Conditions
Some examples of health conditions that can cause urticaria include:
- Autoimmune hypothyroidism
- Bacterial infections, such as some urinary tract infections and stop throat
- Intestinal parasites, such as Giardia lamblia
- Autoimmune conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), Sjögren’s Syndrome, celiac disease, and type-1 diabetes.
- Any other condition that causes inflammation of blood vessels
- Viral infections, such as Flu, the common cold, glandular fever, or hepatitis-B
Sometimes, hives can become chronic as a result of these conditions, or other unknown triggers.
Any of these things may trigger an outbreak of urticaria:
- Alcohol or food
- Exercise
- Pain medications
- Heat or cold
- Infection
- insects or parasites
- Scratching
- Pressure on your skin from tight clothing
- Stress
- Sunlight
A Thyroid Connection
Chronic urticaria may be connected to the thyroid.
In a study of patients with chronic urticaria, 12 of 54 people, all females, had thyroid autoantibodies (anti-TPO) in their blood. Of these 12 patients, 10 were found to have hypothyroidism and were treated for it.
Anti-TPO antibodies may also indicate the presence of an autoimmune thyroid disease, such as Graves’ disease or Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Your doctor will look for this if your blood test shows raised levels of anti-TPO.
Chronic Urticaria on Different Parts of the Body
Urticaria (hives) can appear anywhere on the body, such as the:
- Arms
- Face
- Legs
- Trunk
Urticaria on the Face
When hives results from an allergy or sensitivity reaction, it can significantly affect the face. For example, it may cause swelling in the lips.
The swelling can become more widespread and affect the mouth, throat, and airways. In this case, the person may find it hard to breathe. This is an emergency, and the person needs urgent medical care. They are at risk of developing anaphylaxis.
If a specific object appears to have triggered the reaction, it may be helpful to take a sample to the hospital.
Urticaria on the Legs
Some people have “papular urticaria” in reaction to insect or spider bites. It usually affects children who have not yet developed immunity to these bites. The lesions can develop anywhere, but commonly occur on the legs.
The symptoms of papular urticaria are similar to hives in general, but the bumps tend to be small, between 0.2 to 2.0 centimeters across. They may contain fluid and form in clusters.
A new insect bite may cause papules to reappear.
Hives on the Face
When hives results from an allergy or sensitivity reaction, it can significantly affect the face. For example, it may cause swelling in the lips.
The swelling can become more widespread and affect the mouth, throat, and airways. In this case, the person may find it hard to breathe. This is an emergency, and the person needs urgent medical care. They are at risk of developing anaphylaxis.
If a specific object appears to have triggered the reaction, it may be helpful to take a sample to the hospital.
Treatment of Chronic Urticaria
There are several ways to treat hives. Some common treatments include:
- Antihistamines (either prescription or over-the-counter oral medications)
- Cyclosporine
- Cold compresses
- Omalizumab (Xolair)
- Prednisone or similar corticosteroid or immune altering medications
Hydroxychloroquine, a medication originally developed to prevent malaria, may also be a potential treatment option for people with chronic hives.
A clinical trial found that 83 percent of people saw their hives improve or go away completely after using hydroxychloroquine for at least 3 months, according to the American Osteopathic College of Dermatology.
The aforementioned research from 2018 also showed success with using levothyroxine, a medication typically used for thyroid disease, in people with chronic urticaria and elevated antithyroid antibody levels.
So, it’s possible that treating the thyroid may also help treat the chronic hives, but more research is needed.
Other Autoimmune Conditions Associated with Chronic Urticaria
Research from 2013 has also found links between chronic hives and other autoimmune disease, including:
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Celiac Disease
- Type 1 diabetes
- systemic lupus erythematosus
- Sjögren’s Syndrome
If you have been diagnosed with chronic hives with no known cause, you should talk with your doctor about checking for underlying autoimmune disorders and other conditions.
Summary
Research shows there may be a connection between chronic hives and thyroid disease.
Both conditions can be the result of an overactive immune system that ends up attacking your thyroid or skin. Further research is needed to determine the exact link between the two conditions, however.
Chronic hives can be treated with a range of medications, such as:
- Antihistamines
- Immune-altering drugs
- Omalizumab (Xolair)
- Prednisone
Cold compresses and anti-itch ointment can also provide relief from the itching and swelling of the hives.
If you have chronic hives with no known cause, talk with your doctor about whether you should get tested for a thyroid disorder.
Bay Biosciences is a global leader in providing researchers with high quality, clinical grade, fully characterized human tissue samples, bio-specimens, and human bio-fluid collections.
Samples available include cancer (tumor) tissue, cancer serum, cancer plasma, cancer, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). and human tissue samples from most other therapeutic areas and diseases.
Bay Biosciences maintains and manages its own biorepository, the human tissue bank (biobank) consisting of thousands of diseased samples (specimens) and from normal healthy donors available in all formats and types.
Our biobank procures and stores fully consented, deidentified and institutional review boards (IRB) approved human tissue samples and matched controls.
All our human tissue collections, human specimens and human bio-fluids are provided with detailed, samples associated patient’s clinical data.
This critical patient’s clinical data includes information relating to their past and current disease, treatment history, lifestyle choices, biomarkers, and genetic information.
Patient’s data is extremely valuable for researchers and is used to help identify new effective treatments (drug discovery & development) in oncology, and other therapeutic areas and diseases.
Bay Biosciences banks wide variety of human tissue samples and biological samples, including cryogenically preserved at – 80°C.
Including fresh frozen tissue samples, tumor tissue samples, formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE), tissue slides, with matching human bio-fluids, whole blood and blood-derived products such as serum, plasma and PBMC.
Bay Biosciences is a global leader in collecting and providing human tissue samples according to the specified requirements and customized, tailor-made collection protocols.
Please contact us anytime to discuss your special research projects and customized human tissue sample requirements.
Types of Biospecimens
Bay Biosciences provides human tissue samples (human specimens) from diseased and normal healthy donors which includes:
- Peripheral whole-blood
- Amniotic fluid
- Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BAL)
- Sputum
- Pleural effusion
- Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)
- Serum (sera)
- Plasma
- Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC)
- Saliva
- Buffy coat
- Urine
- Stool samples
- Aqueous humor
- Vitreous humor
- Kidney stones (renal calculi)
- Other bodily fluids from most diseases including cancer.
We can also procure most human bio-specimens, special collections and requests for human samples that are difficult to find. All our human tissue samples are procured through IRB-approved clinical protocols and procedures.
In addition to the standard processing protocols, Bay Biosciences can also provide human plasma, serum, and PBMC bio-fluid samples using custom processing protocols; you buy donor-specific collections in higher volumes and specified sample aliquots from us.
Bay Biosciences also provides human samples from normal healthy donors; volunteers, for controls and clinical research, contact us Now.
- 日本のお客様は、ベイバイオサイエンスジャパンBay Biosciences Japanまたはhttp://baybiosciences-jp.com/contact/までご連絡ください。