Cetirizine inhibits bradykinin-induced cutaneous wheal and flare in atopic and healthy subjects

What Was Tested

Researchers studied Bradykinin in this randomized controlled trial publication.

The aim of this study was to compare the possible effect of cetirizine (an H1-antagonist) on wheal and flare responses to BK, histamine, and compound 48/80 in atopic and healthy subjects.

Why It Was Studied

Kinins are vasoactive mediators involved in allergic reactions.

When applied on the skin or in the nose, bradykinin (BK) elicits inflammation that is poorly affected by previous H1-blockade.

Who Took Part

By PubMed's age tags, the people studied were teenagers and adults, both men and women.

The skin responses were monitored by measurement of wheal and flare areas.

How the Study Was Run

The design is described as randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled and crossover.

Because people in this Bradykinin study were split into groups at random, differences between the groups are less likely to reflect who happened to join each one.

As a double-blind Bradykinin study, the assignments were hidden from both participants and investigators until the end.

The comparison arm used a placebo, so changes seen with Bradykinin could be set against what happens without it.

In the crossover set-up each of the participants took both Bradykinin and the comparison in turn, acting as their own control.

What Was Measured

The subject headings attached to it are Asthma, Bradykinin, Cetirizine, Dermatitis, Allergic Contact, Histamine, Histamine H1 Antagonists and Intradermal Tests.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Bradykinin.

Results are reported in around 9 sentences of the abstract; we leave them to the paper itself rather than summarise them.

The publication is from 2000 (Allergy), a journal based in Denmark.

More context: the Bradykinin compound page, all human trials.