New Asthma Drug Effective in Treatment of Itchy Rash and Hives

A recent study has found that a high dose of a commonly used asthma drug, omalizumab, when taken once a month can be used to treat patients dealing chronically with hives and an itchy rash.

In explaining the benefits of this search, Dr. Sarbjit Saini, an allergist and immunologist at the John Hopkins Hospital and University, says, “Patients suffering with this condition need more and better treatments because chronic rash and hives are profoundly hard to treat and can be debilitating.”

With the findings of the study due to be published in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers tested this drug on 323 participants in 55 medical centers and for whom common antihistamine therapy had failed.

The study was conducted between 2009 and 2011, with mostly women being participants and being between 12 to 75 years of age. The patients were already suffering from itchy rash and hives anywhere between six months and five years.

Also, the patients were required to take omalizumab in the three doses available or the placebo and were then monitored consistently through checkups over the next four months. With the positive results, Saini is sure that this first injection treatment works far better and is safer compared to traditional drugs such as immunosuppressant cyclosporine and corticosteroids.

The results of the study showed that the only side effect that was a part of this treatment cycle were headaches, and there were no instances of patients having to withdraw from treatment due to adverse effects or events or cases of them suffering from death or anaphylactic shock.