Effect of omalizumab treatment on peripheral nerves in patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria

Abstract

Aim: Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is characterised by itchy, red and raised lesions that appear as an attack without any cause and last for six weeks or longer. Omalizumab is a humanised monoclonal antibody that selectively binds to the Ce3 moiety of circulating IgE and is indicated for the treatment of resistant CSU. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether there was peripheral nervous system involvement in patients with chronic urticaria receiving omalizumab treatment.

Methods: Forty-seven patients who were treated with omalizumab for CSU were included in the study. Electrophysiological measurements were performed following a neurological examination before treatment and at three months after omalizumab treatment. In nerve conduction tests, eight different nerves were studied in four extremities (total 16 nerves). During these studies, two motor and two sensory nerves (median and ulnar) in the upper extremities, and two motor (tibial and common peroneal) and two sensory nerves (sural and superficial peroneal) in the lower extremities were analysed.

Results: No pathological electrophysiological findings supporting neuropathy were detected in any of the measurements performed before and after treatment. When the nerve conduction velocity, amplitude and latency values of all examined nerves were compared, no significant difference was found between the pre- and post-treatment values.

Conclusions: It can be considered that omalizumab has no effect on peripheral nerves, and it is a safe and well tolerated agent in terms of both peripheral nerves and neurological structure.