High-dose vitamin D may alleviate urticaria

High-dose vitamin D₃ as an adjuvant therapy holds potential benefit for patients suffering from chronic urticaria, according to results of a recent study.

Researchers from University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Neb., conducted a prospective, double-blinded, single-center study of 42 patients who had chronic urticaria. The patients were randomized to receive high (4,000 IU/d) or low (600 IU/d) vitamin D₃ supplements over the course of 12 weeks. Each patient was given a standardized triple-drug therapy of cetirizine, ranitidine and montelukast, as well as a written action plan, according to the study.

The triple-drug therapy decreased the total Urticaria Symptom Severity (USS) scores by 33 percent within the first week, study authors reported. There was also a 40 percent decrease in total USS scores in the high-dose vitamin D₃ treatment group by week 12, but not in the low-dose group. Patients receiving the higher vitamin D₃ dosage showed a trend (P=0.52) toward lower total USS scores at week 12 than those in those in the low-dose group. Study authors indicated this was due to “significant decreases in body distribution and number of days with hives.” There were no adverse events reported.

“Add-on therapy with high-dose vitamin D₃ (4,000 IU/d) could be considered a safe and potentially beneficial immunomodulator in patients with chronic urticaria,” study authors concluded.

The findings were published online Feb. 7 in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.