About | Urticaria study

Who we are

We are a multidisciplinary research team based in the Allergy and Dermatology Units at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals, London, UK. The study is co-sponsored by King’s College London and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and is funded by Astra Zeneca. The study has been reviewed and approved by an NHS Research Ethics Committee (IRAS ID 210530; REC ref: 17/NW/0140). The study will also form part of an educational project known as an MD (Doctorate of Medicine).

The study team

Dr Stephen Till (Principal Investigator)

Reader in Allergy/Hon Consultant Allergist, Peter Gorer Department of Immunobiology, King's College London and Consultant Allergist, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust

Professor Barry Kay

Visiting Professor in Allergy, Peter Gorer Department of Immunobiology, King's College London

Dr Clive Grattan

Consultant Dermatologist, St Johns Institute of Dermatology, Guys and St Thomas's NHS Foundation Trust

Dr Hannah Cookson

Consultant Dermatologist, St Johns Institute of Dermatology, Guys and St Thomas's NHS Foundation Trust

Dr Alison Sears

Clinical Research Fellow, Peter Gorer Department of Immunobiology, King’s College London

Ms Isabelle Schelcher

Research Nurse, Peter Gorer Department of Immunobiology, Guys and St Thomas's NHS Foundation Trust

Why are we doing this study?

Our preliminary experiments suggest that in urticaria, certain types of white blood cells move from the bloodstream into the skin. Usually, these white blood cells (eosinophils and basophils) only fight infections and they are mostly absent from normal healthy skin. It is possible that these cells and their products play a role in causing the weals in urticaria. By looking at these cells in the skin in more detail - and which signals (genes) are switched on or off - we hope to better understand their possible role in causing urticaria. This is important because a new medication has recently been developed which is able to effectively target these cells. Therefore the results of this project will be important in deciding whether a trial of this medication should be performed.

Can I take part?

The study is open to men and women in London, in the UK.

To take part you must

Be aged 18 – 80
Have a confirmed diagnosis of Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria (CSU)
Have had daily or almost daily weals for at least 6 weeks
Be able to travel to Guy’s Hospital, London

You may not be able to take part if you

Have had recent or current treatment which suppresses or modifies the immune system
Have other serious illnesses
Are prone to infections
Are pregnant, breastfeeding or within 6 months of having a baby

What’s involved?

Download our Participant Information Sheet for more information.

We arrange a study visit at Guy’s Hospital, London, during which will ask you some questions about your general health and allergies, and perform a physical examination. We ask you to fill out a brief daily questionnaire about how itchy you are and how many weals you have each day, in the 7 days leading up to this visit. We ask you to discontinue any antihistamine medication 48 hours prior to the study visit. Following the visit you will be advised to restart your antihistamine medication. Although you may be more itchy during this period, stopping the medication for this short period of time will have no lasting effect on your condition.

We would like to take 4 small samples of skin (each sample is known as a biopsy). Two biopsies would be taken from an unaffected area of skin and another 2 would be from a developing weal around four hours after it has first appeared. We will also ask you to complete a short questionnaire about how your condition affects the quality of your life. The biopsies will be studied in the laboratory, where we will measure the eosinophils and basophils. We will also study which genes are switched on or off in these samples. We will compare the results to skin from people without urticaria (healthy controls) and also examine if the results relate to the level of your symptoms.