Publications by authors named "Ana M Gimenez Arnau"

Background: There is a current fashion for the use of methacrylate-containing nail cosmetics that can induce allergic contact dermatitis. European Union (EU) legislation was introduced in 2021 that had the aim of preventing its development.

Objectives: To assess prevalence and exposures causing contact allergy to 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) prior to and following implementation of the legislation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: There is a significant prevalence of chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) in children across the globe. Some children with CSU do not achieve disease control with first-line antihistamine treatment and may need anti-IgE therapy with omalizumab. Recently, several novel treatment options, including dupilumab and BTK inhibitors, showed promising results in the treatment of antihistamine-refractory CSU in adults.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • CRUSE® is an app designed for people with chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) to track their symptoms using visual analogue scales (VASs), aiming to assess the app's effectiveness in measuring disease activity.
  • A study analyzed three VASs related to CSU impact on daily life, including one specifically for the severity of urticaria, one for productivity, and a general health measure (EQ-5D), using data from nearly 6,000 patients over many days.
  • The results showed that the CRUSE® app's VASs demonstrate strong validity and reliability, with the "VAS urticaria" being most effective in capturing symptom changes, while the minimal important difference (MID) values indicated meaningful changes
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The Basophil Activation Test (BAT) is identified as a key biomarker for predicting autoimmune chronic spontaneous urticaria (aiCSU), but its real-world application and relation to omalizumab therapy are still under-researched.
  • A study conducted between 2010 and 2024 analyzed the clinical and laboratory characteristics of patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) based on their BAT results, collecting data on various biomarkers and treatment responses.
  • Results showed that BAT positive patients exhibited specific traits such as low IgE levels and higher positivity for markers like anti-thyroid peroxidase; notably, these patients experienced shorter effectiveness of omalizumab treatment, highlighting the importance of BAT in clinical settings.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Patch test outcomes can be affected by age, but there are mixed findings on how age impacts these results.
  • The study involved over 13,000 patients and revealed that middle-aged adults (31-65 years) had the highest rates of positive skin sensitisation results, particularly for certain substances like nickel and potassium dichromate.
  • Overall, while age does influence some patch test results, most allergens showed consistent reactivity across ages, underscoring the importance of standard testing regardless of age.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Reports of allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) to phytonadione epoxide (PE) in cosmetics suggest that PE is as powerful a sensitiser as its parent compound phytonadione.

Objective: To evaluate a case series of ACD to PE in Spain.

Methods: We reviewed the records of 20 patients with ACD to cosmetics containing PE diagnosed across Spain between January 2019 and June 2023.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - The study examines the prevalence of contact allergies to methylisothiazolinone (MI) and related preservatives in cosmetic products across Europe after regulatory changes implemented in the late 2010s.
  • - A total of 2554 patients were patch tested, revealing MI allergy at 2.9%, benzisothiazolinone (BIT) at 3.1%, and octylisothiazolinone (OIT) at 0.7%, with rinse-off products being the main source of MI-related allergies.
  • - The research highlights a decrease in MI allergies due to regulations, though BIT has become a more common allergen, indicating ongoing consumer exposure to older products.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Importance: Treating patients with chronic urticaria using omalizumab has been shown to be safe and effective in randomized clinical trials. Multinational studies on long-term omalizumab performance in chronic urticaria in clinical practice settings are lacking, especially on drug survival. Drug survival, which refers to the length of time that patients are treated with a specific drug, is a comprehensive outcome covering effectiveness, safety, and patient and physician preferences.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory condition that significantly affects the quality of life of both patients and their families or caregivers. Recently, treatment for moderate-to-severe AD were limited to conventional immunosuppressive therapies. However, currently, with the approval of biologic treatments and oral small molecules in the past decade, the effective and safe management of patients with AD is possible.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Budesonide and tixocortol pivalate as markers of contact allergy to corticosteroids have been questioned, as they are not able to detect a significant percentage of allergic patients.

Objectives: To investigate the potential role of clobetasol propionate in enhancing corticosteroid sensitisation detection.

Methods: Between January 2022 and December 2023, patients who attended centres involved in the Spanish Registry of Research in Contact Dermatitis and Cutaneous Allergy were tested with an extended baseline series that included budesonide, tixocortol pivalate, clobetasol propionate 0.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Patch testing is the only clinically applicable diagnostic method for Type IV allergy. The availability of Type IV patch test (PT) allergens in Europe, however, is currently scarce. This severely compromises adequate diagnostics of contact allergy, leading to serious consequences for the affected patients.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

While several studies have examined the role of T cells and related cytokines in the development of chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU), there is a limited amount of research focusing on the changes in cytokine levels during omalizumab treatment. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the inflammatory cytokine profile (including IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, IL-13, IL-17, IL-31, IL-33, and TNFα) among CSU patients undergoing to omalizumab treatment. Plasma levels of cytokines were measured using ELISA.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The diagnosis of eczema ('dermatitis') is mostly clinical and depends on the clinical history and exploratory objective findings (primary lesions, patterns). Contact dermatitis remains as an important condition in the group of eczematous disorders, with important socioeconomic and occupational relevance. Although irritant and allergic contact dermatitis have a different pathogenesis, both are characterized by a rather typical morphology, are triggered by external factors and tend to occur primarily in the area of contact with the exogenous agent.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • A significant percentage (31.2%) of patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) experience non-skin-related symptoms (NSRS) like recurrent fever, joint/bone/muscle pain, and malaise.
  • These NSRS are linked to various trigger factors such as food and infections, as well as clinical characteristics like sleep disturbances and elevated inflammation markers.
  • Patients with NSRS tend to have worse disease activity, longer duration of CSU, lower quality of life, and a higher likelihood of poor control over their symptoms, highlighting the need for improved management strategies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Previous studies indicate that a postbiotic extract from Aquaphilus dolomiae (ADE-G3) improves skin barrier function and relieves neuroinflammation. Evaluation of an ADE-G3-based soothing cream for managing sensitive facial skin. This real-world, international, pre-post comparative study involved adults with sensitive facial skin who used the study product once or twice daily for two to three months according to usual practice.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is a relatively common dermatological disorder characterized by sudden and unpredictable onset of pruritic wheals and/or angioedema, for more than six weeks. It is a mast cell-mediated histaminergic disorder, considerably worsening patients' quality of life. Current treatment options include anti-histamines, omalizumab and cyclosporine, in a step-wise algorithmic approach, aimed at complete symptom control.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by recurrent pruritic wheals (hives) and/or angioedema. Patients with CSU could remain symptomatic despite standard-of-care H antihistamines (H1-AH) or anti-IgE (omalizumab) treatment. Dupilumab blocks IL-4/IL-13 signaling and is approved for multiple type 2/atopic indications.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • A multicentric study in Spain analyzed data from 10,176 patients over four years to explore polysensitization (PS), finding that 8.3% of participants were polysensitized.
  • Factors associated with PS included older age, atopic dermatitis, and exposure at specific body locations, with significant differences in allergen relevance compared to those with fewer sensitivities.
  • The research revealed distinct allergen clusters among polysensitized patients, suggesting that cross-reactivity and sensitization may contribute to these patterns.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is a relatively common skin disease associated with hives and angio-oedema. Eosinophils play a role in CSU pathogenesis. Benralizumab, an anti-interleukin-5 receptor-α monoclonal antibody, has been shown to induce nearly complete depletion of eosinophils.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • There is a significant lack of clear guidance on how and when to reduce treatment for chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) despite advances in therapies.
  • The SDown-CSU study, which involved 103 physicians across 34 countries, found that many national management guidelines do not address the specifics of discontinuing CSU treatments, especially for medications like antihistamines and cyclosporine.
  • The study emphasizes the need for clear protocols and provides a step-down algorithm to help manage CSU treatment more effectively at various stages.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: A global epidemic of allergic contact dermatitis to (meth)acrylates has been described in relation to the widespread use of manicure products.

Objectives: To evaluate the frequency of sensitization to 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (2-HEMA) among consecutively patch tested patients with eczema in Spain; the percentage of current relevance; the MOAHLFA index; and, the potential sources of exposure to (meth)acrylates.

Methods: From January 2019 to December 2022, 2-HEMA 2% pet.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF